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COMMENTAKY 


ON 


The  Confession  of  Faith. 


WITH  QUESTIONS  FOR  THEOLOGICAL  STUDENTS 
AND   BIBLE   CLASSES 


BY   THE  -S 

REV.  ARCHIBALD  ALEXANDER  HODGE.  D.D., 

Professor  of  Didactic  and   Polemical  Theology  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Princeton,  N.  J. 


WITH  APPENDIX. 


PHILADELPHIA : 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION" 
AND  SABBATH-SCHOOL  WORK, 

1901. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

THE  TRUSTEES  OP  THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OE  PUBLICATION, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the    Eastern 
District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PREFACE. 


This  Commentary  on  the  "Confession  of  Faith"  consists  of 
an  analysis  of  its  chapters  and  sections,  with  proofs  and  illustra- 
tions of  its  doctrines.  It  aims  to  bring  out  the  natural  and  his- 
torically-established sense  of  the  text.  Its  design  is  to  stimulate 
and  facilitate  the  study  of  this  excellent  body  of  Christian  truth 
among  theological  students,  Bible-class  scholars,  ruling  elders  and 
ministers.  It  was  first  published  in  1869,  and,  having  been  cir- 
culated in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  as  well  as  in  America,  the 
Board  of  Publication  has  been  encouraged  to  issue  a  new  edition. 

Two  appendices  have  been  added  to  this  edition.  The  first 
contains  the  statement  of  the  representative  theologians,  Dr. 
Charles  Hodge  and  Dr.  Henry  B.  Smith,  as  to  the  sense  in  which 
the  historical  Presbyterian  Church  understands  intrants  into  her 
ministry  to  accept  the  "  Confession  of  Faith  as  containing  the  sys- 
tem of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;"  in  which  under- 
standing the  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  are  thus 
shown  to  have  been  perfectly  agreed.  The  second  appendix  con- 
tains the  only  two  official  explanations  of  the  sense  in  which  the 
Westminster  Confession  is  understood  by  their  respective  denom- 
inations made  by  representative  bodies — i.  e.  the  "  Auburn  Decla- 
ration" in  1837  and  the  "Declarative  Act"  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Synod  of  Scotland  in  1879. 

In  the  mean  time  very  much  light  has  been  thrown  upon  the 
Westminster  Assembly  and  its  proceedings  by  the  labors  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  A.  F.  Mitchell,  professor  of  ecclesiastical  history  in  St. 
Mary's  College,  St.  Andrews.  In  1867  and  1874  he  published 
with  a  learned  introduction,  the  Minutes  of  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly and  his  Baird  lecture  for  1882,  The  Westminster  Assembly,  its 
Histoiy  and  Standards.     The  new  information,  however,  relates 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

entirely  to  the  sources  from  which  the  doctrine  of  our  standards 
was  drawn,  and  to  the  part  performed  by  the  several  persons  co- 
operating in  their  composition.  It  does  not  give  occasion  to  the 
modification  of  a  single  interpretation  advanced  in  this  Com- 
mentary. 

While  the  doctrine  of  this  Confession  is  in  perfect  harmony 
with  that  of  the  Reformed  divines  of  Holland  and  Switzerland, 
especially  with  the  form  their  doctrine  assumed  after  the  rise 
of  what  has  been  called  "the  Covenant  Theology,"  nevertheless 
Dr.  Mitchell  shows  that  it  is  drawn  almost  entirely  from  British 
sources :  "  There  was  perhaps  no  branch  of  the  mediaeval  Church 
where  the  system  of  doctrine  developed  by  Augustine  had  so 
unquestionably  retained  its  old  supremacy  to  the  last  as  the 
Anglo-Norman.  The  system  of  its  greatest  theologians,  Anselm 
and  Bradwardine,  appropriated  by  Wyclif  and  the  Lollards,  con- 
tinued or  revived  by  Tyndale,  Frith,  Barnes  and  their  coadjutors, 
may  be  said  to  have  formed  the  substratum  of  the  Reformed 
teaching."  "With  respect  to  the  doctrine  of  the  covenants, 
which  some  assert  to  have  been  derived  from  Holland,  I  think 
myself  now,  after  careful  investigation,  entitled  to  maintain  that 
there  is  nothing  taught  in  the  Confession  which  had  not  been 
long  before  in  substance  taught  by  Rollock  and  Howie  in  Scot- 
land, and  by  Cartwright,  Preston,  Perkins,  Ames  and  Ball  in 
England.  The  remarkable  treatise  of  Ball  on  The  Covenant  of 
Grace  was  published  with  recommendatory  notices  by  Reynolds, 
Cawdrey,  Calamy,  Hill,  Ashe  and  Burgess  at  the  very  time  the 
Assembly  began  to  frame  its  Confession." 

Dr.  Mitchell  proves  that  the  Confession  was  conformed  in  the 
order  of  its  chapters  and  the  type  of  its  doctrine  more  to  the 
"Articles  of  the  Irish  Church  "  than  to  any  other  model.  These 
were  drawn  up  by  Archbishop  Ussher  in  1615,  when  he  was  pro- 
fessor of  divinity  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  The  correspond- 
ence of  the  Larger  Catechism  is  also  very  striking  with  the  Body 
of  Christian  Doctrine,  a  compilation  attributed  to  Ussher  when  a 
youth,  and  circulated  in  the  Westminster  Assembly. 

A.  A.  Hodge. 

Princeton,  N.  J.,  June,  18S5. 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION. 
CHAPTEE  I. 

A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF  CREEDS  AND  CONFESSIONS. 

PAQI 
1'he  Scriptures  the  only  Standard  of  faith  and  practice.  —  Man's 
part  in  the  matter  of  interpretation. — The  origin  of  Creeds. — The 
true  use  of  Creeds  and  Confessions. — Different  conditions  imposed 
upon  private  members  and  upon  office-bearers. — The  "Adopting 
Act"  of  the  original  Synod. — The  final  adoption  of  our  Standards  in 
their  present  form,  A.D.  1788. — I.  The  ancient  Creeds  which  ex- 
press the  faith  of  the  whole  Church,  viz.:  the  Apostles',  the  Nicene, 
the  Athanasian  Creeds,  and  those  of  the  Councils  of  Ephesus  and 
Chalcedon. — II.  The  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  the  different  branches 
of  the  Church  since  the  Reformation  :  1.  The  Doctrinal  Standards 
of  the  Church  of  Rome. — 2.  The  Doctrinal  Standards  of  the  Greek 
Church. — 3.  The  Confessions  of  the  Lutheran  Church. — 4.  The  Con- 
fessions of  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  Churches. — The  adoption 
of  the  Westminster  Confession  and  Catechisms  by  the  Presbyterians 
and  Congregationalists  of  America 29 

CHAPTEK  II. 

BOME  ACCOUNT   OF   THE  ORIGIN   OF  THE  WESTMINSTER  CONFESSION 
AND   CATECHISMS. 

Thk  usual  mode  in  which  the  Protestant  Confessions  were  produced.  — 
The  origin  of  the  "  Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort"  and  the  "West- 
minster Confession." — The  Reformation  in  Scotland,  its  origin, 
character  and  political  effects. — The  "National  Covenant,"  A.D. 
1638,  and  the  "Solemn  League  and  Covenant,"  A.D.  1643. — The 
Reformation  in  England,  its  origin,  character  and  effects. —  The 
tyranny  of  the  Stuirts. — The  Long  Parliament. — The  ordinance 
tailing  an  Assembl}  of  Divines  at  Westminster      The  composition 

5 


CONTENTS. 

MSI 

of  the  Assembly. — Its  organization. — The  different  parties  repre- 
sented.— The  preparation  of  a  "Directory  of  Worship,  Government 
and  Discipline." — The  preparation  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  and 
Catechisms. — The  establishment  by  Parliament  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church. — The  ratificat;on  of  the  Confession  by  the  Parliament  and 
by  the  Scotch  Assembly. — The  Dissolution  of  the  Long  Parliament. 
— The  adoption  of  the  Westminster  Standards  by  the  original  Pres- 
byterian Synod  in  America,  A.D.  1729. — The  passages  relating  to 
the  civil  magistrate  excepted  to  and  altered 41 


COMMENTARY    ON    THE    CONFESSION    OF 
FAITH. 

CHAPTER  I.v/ 

OF   THE   HOLY  SCRIPTURE.    Y 

Section  I.  teaches — (1.)  The  light  of  nature  sufficient  to  leave  men 
without  excuse.  (2.)  Not  sufficient  to  enable  any  to  attain  salva- 
tion. (3.)  Hence  God  has  at  different  times  made  a  supernatural 
revelation  of  himself  to  some  favored  portion  of  the  race.  (4.)  This 
revelation,  having  been  committed  to  writing,  is  exclusively  em- 
braced in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Sections  II.  and  III.  teach — (1.)  That  these  Holy  Scriptures  include 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments  and  all  the  particular  books  named. 
(2.)  The  books  called  "Apocrypha"  form  no  part  of  the  Sacred 
Canon.  (3.)  All  the  canonical  books  were  divinely  inspired,  and 
hence  are  an  infallible  and  authoritative  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 

Sections  IV.  and  V.  teach — (1.)  The  authority  of  Scripture  rests  not 
on  the  Church,  but  immediately  upon  God.  (2.)  Their  internal 
characteristics  prove  the  Scriptures  to  be  divine.  (3.)  Their  high- 
est evidence  is  the  direct  work  of  the  Spirit  on  the  heart. 

Section  VI.  teaches — (1.)  The  Scriptures  are  a  complete  rule  of  faith 
and  practice.  (2.)'  Nothing  in  the  present  dispensation  is  to  be 
added  to  them  or  to  take  their  place.  (3.)  Yet  the  spiritual  illumi- 
nation of  each  person  by  the  Holy  Ghost  is  necessary.  (4.)  Men 
are  left  to  apply  the  principles  revealed  to  practical  details  accord- 
ing to  the  leadings  of  Providence. 

Section  VII.  affirms  that  the  Scriptures  are  perspicuous. 

Sections  VIII.  teaches — (1.)  That  the  absolute  rule  of  faith  is  the 
Scripture  in  the  original  tongues.  (2.)  That  we  possess  an  essen- 
tially pure  and  reliable  text.  (3.)  That  they  ought  to  be  tranp- 
lated  into  the  languages  of  all  people. 


CONTENTS.  7 

PAGK 

Sections  IX.  and  X.  teach — (1.)  The  only  infallible  rule  for  the  in- 
terpretation of  Scripture  is  Scripture  itself.  (2.)  The  Scriptures 
are  the  supreme  judge  in  all  controversies  respecting  religion 67 

CHAPTEK   II.  V 

OF  GOD  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  TRINITY. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  There  is  but  one  living  and  trjje  God. 
(2.)  This  God  is  a  free  personal  Spirit,  without  bodily  parts  or  pas- 
sions. (3.)  He  possesses  all  absolute  perfections  in  himself.  (4.) 
He  possesses  all  relative  perfections  with  respect  to  his  creatures. 
(5.)  He  is  the  self-existent  and  absolutely  independent  Supporter, 
Proprietor  and  Disposer  of  all  his  creatures. 

Section  III.  teaches — (1.)  That  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit  are  each 
equally  that  one  God,  and  possess  in  common  all  the  divine  perfec- 
tions. (2.)  That  they  are  three  distinct  persons  although  one  sub- 
stance. (3.)  That  they  are  distinguished  from  one  another  by  cer- 
tain personal  properties  and  modes  of  operation  and  of  manifesta- 
tion— as  follows,  etc 89 

CHAPTEK   m.* 
OF  god's  eternal  decree. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  God  has  from  eternity  followed  an 
unchangeable  plan  in  all  his  works.  (2.)  This  plan  comprehends 
all  things  and  events  whatsoever  that  come  to  pass.  (3.)  This  plan, 
as  a  whole,  and  in  all  its  parts,  is  an  absolutely  sovereign  purpose. 
(4.)  This  purpose  is  in  reference  to  all  its  objects  certainly  effi- 
cacious. (5.)  It  is  in  all  its  parts  consistent  with  his  own  perfec- 
tions. (6.)  It  is  in  all  things  perfectly  consistent  with  the  nature 
of  the  creatures  severally  affected  by  it. 

Sections  III.,  IV.  and  V.  affirm — (1.)  That  God's  eternal  purpose 
determines  what  individuals  shall  be  effectually  called  through  faith 
unto  salvation,  and  that  the  rest  shall  be  condemned  for  their  sin. 
(2.)  This  determination  is  unchangeable.  (3.)  It  is  not  conditioned 
upon  foreseen  faith  or  obedience,  but  is  sovereignly  determined  by 
the  wise  counsel  of  his  own  will.  (4.)  The  ultimate  end  of  his 
election  is  the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace. 

Section  VI.  affirms — (1.)  That  God's  all  comprehensive  purpose  de- 
termines all  the  means  and  conditions  as  well  as  all  the  ends  he  has 
chosen  to  effect,  and  that  in  the  logical  order  the  end  takes  prece- 
dence of  the  means.  (2.)  That  in  the  matter  of  human  redemption 
the  "end"  is  the  salvation  of  the  elect — the  "means"  are  redemp- 
tion by  Christ,  regeneration,  sanctification,  etc.     (3.)  That  hence  tb« 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAS! 

"moans"  are  only  intended  to   be  applied  to  those  for  whom  the 

"  end"  is  intended ;  i.  e.,  note  but  the  elect  are  redeemed  by  Christ, 

effectually  called,  etc.,  etc. 
Section  VII.  affirms — (1.)  That  the  sovereign  destination  of  some  to 

grace  involves  the  sovereign  determination  to  withhold  grace  from 

the  non-elect.     (2.)  That  God  treats  the  non-elect  upon  principles 

of  strict  justice,  and  condemns  them  for  their  sins. 
Section  VIII.  teaches  that  this  doctrine  is  a  great  mystery,  and  should 

be  handled  with  special  care Ill 

CHAPTER  IV.  / 

OF  CREATION. 

Section  I.  teaches — (1.)  Neither  the  elementary  substance  nor  the 
form  of  the  universe  nor  of  any  of  its  parts  is  self-existent  or  eternal. 
(2.)  The  triune  God  originally  created  the  elementary  substances  of 
the  universe  out  of  nothing,  and  arranged  all  the  forms  they  as- 
sume, and  reconstructed  this  earth  into  its  present  condition  in  the 
space  of  six  days.  (3.)  When  finished  all  God's  works  were  very 
good,  each  after  its  kind.  (4.)  The  final  end  of  God  in  his  creation 
was  the  manifestation  of  his  own  glory. 

Section  II.  teaches — (1.)  Man  was  created  immediately  by  God,  and 
last  of  all  the  creatures.  (2.)  The  whole  human  family  has  de- 
scended from  one  pair.  (3.)  God  originally  created  man  in  his  own 
image — (a)  a  personal  spirit  (b)  an  intelligent,  righteous  and  holy 
spirit,  with  dominion  over  the  creatures.  (4.)  God  furnished  Adam 
with  a  moral  nature  in  a  perfect  state,  and  a  positive  revelation  of 
his  will.  (5.)  But  while  capable  of  obedience,  Adam  was  left,  under 
a  special  test,  capable  of  falling 127 

CHAPTER  V.  / 

OF   PROVIDENCE. 

Section  I.  teaches — (1.)  God  continues  to  uphold  all  his  creatures  in 
being,  and  in  the  possession  and  exercise  of  the  qualities  and  active 
powers  with  which  he  endowed  them.  (2.)  God  directs  all  the  ac- 
tions of  his  creatures  according  to  their  respective  properties  and 
relations.  (3.)  This  providential  control  extends  to  all  his  crea- 
tures and  all  their  actions.  (4.)  It  is  the  consistent  execution  in  time 
of  his  eternal  purpose.  (5.)  Its  final  end  is  the  manifestation  of  his 
own  glory. 

Sections  II.  and  III.  teach — (1.)  God's  providential  control  over 
every  being  and  event  is  certainly  efficacious.  (2.)  As  to  manner,  it 
is  in  every  case  perfectly  consistent  with  the  nature  of  the  agent 
subject  to  it.     (3.)   God  ordinarily  effects  his  purposes  through  the 


CONTENTS.  9 

PAQl 

Agency  of  second  causes.  (4.)  At  times,  however,  immediately  by 
the  direct  energy  of  his  power. 

Section  IV.  teaches — (1.)  God  not  o^ly  permits  sinful  acts,  but  he 
directs  and  controls  them.  (2.)  Yet  the  sinfulness  of  these  actions 
is  only  from  the  sinning  agent,  and  God  in  no  case  is  either  the 
author  or  approver  of  sin. 

Sections  V.,  VI.  and  VII.  teach — (1.)  The  general  providence  of  God 
comprehends  several  distinct  systems.  (2.)  These  are  subordinated 
to  each  other  in  a  certain  order — the  general  to  the  special,  the  physi- 
cal to  the  moral,  and  the  moral  to  the  spiritual.  (3.)  The  relation 
of  providence  to  the  gracious  influences  of  the  Spirit,  and  of  "com- 
mon" to  "efficacious"  grace.  (4.)  The  discipline  of  God's  people. 
(5.)  The  judicial  abandonment  of  the  reprobate 144 

CHAPTER  VI.  ^ 

OF     THE     FALL    OF     MAN,   OF    SIN    AND     OF     THE     PUNISHMENT 
THEREOF. 

Section  I.  teaches — (1.)  Our  first  parents  being  created  holy,  and  en- 
dowed with  sufficient  knowledge,  sinned.  (2.)  Their  sin  was  eating 
the  forbidden  fruit.  (3.)  They  were  seduced  thereto  by  Satan.  (4.) 
This  sin  was,  by  way  of  permission,  embraced  in  the  divine  plan. 
(5.)  God  designed  to  order  it  to  his  own  glory.  The  twofold  mys- 
tery involved  in  the  origin  of  sin  stated  and  considered. 

Section  II.  teaches — (1.)  By  this  sin  they  were  immediately  cut  off  from 
communion  with  God.  (2.)  And  consequently  lost  all  original  right- 
eousness. (3.)  And  became  dead  in  sin  and  wholly  defiled.  (4.) 
This  moral  corruption  extends  to  all  faculties  and  parts  of  soul 
and  body. 

Sections  III.  and  IV.  teach — (1.)  Adam  was  both  the  natural  and 
federal  head  of  all  mankind.  (2.)  The  penal  consequences  of  his 
sin  are  at  birth  actually  inflicted  upon  all  his  descendants.  (3.) 
Hence  they  all  inherit  his  moral  corruption.  (4.)  This  innate  de- 
pravity is  total,  involving  disinclination  and  inability  for  all  gcod, 
and  inclination  to  all  evil.  (5.)  From  this  inward  state  all  actual 
transgressions  proceed. 

Sections  III.  and  IV.  teach — (I.)  Innate  moral  corruption  remains 
in  the  regenerate  as  long  as  they  live.  (2.)  In  them  it  is  pardoned 
for  Christ's  sake.  (3.)  It  is  gradually  brought  into  subjection  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  (4.)  All  that  remains  of  it  is  intrinsically  of 
the  nature  of  sin.  (5.)  Original  sin  (*'.  e.,  a  corrupt  habit  of  soul) 
i?  as  much  a  violation  of  God's  law  as  actual  transgression.  (6.) 
All  sin  whether  original  or  actual,  deserves  punishment.  (7.)  All 
sin  is  death,  unless  grace  prevent 164 


10  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE  VII.  ^ 
of  god's  covenant  with  man. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  Every  creature  is  under  an  essential 
and  unlimited  debt  to  his  Creator.  (2.)  But  the  fruition  of  the 
Creator  by  the  creature  is  a  matter  of  sovereign  grace.  (3.)  God 
has  graciously  pleased  to  offer  men  and  angels  a  reward  upon  con- 
dition they  render  an  obedience  to  which  they  are  previously  bound. 
(4.)  In  this  covenant  Adam  is  the  representative  of  his  descendants. 
(5.)  The  promise  of  their  covenant  was  life — the  condition,  perfect 
obedience. 

Sections  III.  and  IV. — The  Arminian  and  Calvinistic  views  of  the 
Covenant  of  Grace  contrasted.  The  Calvinistic  view  stated  and  sup- 
ported with  proof. 

Sections  V.  and  VI. — (1.)  This  covenant,  although  variously  admin- 
istered, is  one.  (2.)  Its  manner  of  administration  under  the  Old 
Testament  stated.  (3.)  Its  manner  of  administration  under  the 
New  Testament  stated 183 


CHAPTER  VIII.  / 

OF  CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR. 

Section  I.  teaches — (1.)  The  covenanted  Head  of  the  Church  is  the 
God-man.  (2.)  His  mediatorial  office  embraces  the  three  functions 
of  prophet,  priest  and  king.  (3.)  As  Mediator,  Christ  is  Head  o* 
his  Church,  Heir  of  all  things  and  Judge  of  the  world. 

Section  II.  teaches — (1.)  Christ  was  true  man.  (2.)  He  was  abso- 
lutely sinless.  (3.)  He  was  very  God,  the  second  Person  of  the 
Trinity.  (4.)  The  God-man  was  one  single  person.  (5.)  Thia 
single  personality  was  that  of  the  Eternal  Son  of  the  Father.  (6.) 
The  two  natures  in  him  continue  distinct. 

Sections  III.  and  IV.  teach — (1.)  The  human  nature  of  Christ  was 
greatly  exalted  by  the  incarnation.  (2.)  Christ  performs  all  media- 
torial actions  as  God-man.  (3.)  He  acts  in  virtue  of  his  appoint- 
ment by  the  Father.  (4.)  He  assumed  it  voluntarily.  (5.)  He  acts  as 
Mediator  in  his  estate  of  exaltation,  and  (6)  in  his  estate  of  hu- 
miliation. 

Sections  V.  and  VI.  teach — (1.)  Christ  satisfied  for  his  people  (a)  by 
his  obedience,  (o)  by  his  sufferings.  (2.)  Ha  fully  satisfied  for  them 
in  strict  jusb.ce.  (3.)  He  secured  for  them  (a)  remission  of  sins, 
(b)  an  everlasting  inheritance.  (4.)  The  benefits  of  this  redemption 
are  applied  to  his  people  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Section  V1T.  teaches — (1.)  The  properties  of  each  nature  of  Christ  are 


CONTENTS.  11 

PAQl 

exercised  in  all  his  actions  as  Mediator.  (2.)  The  Person  is  indif- 
ferently designated  in  the  style  of  either  nature,  and  the  properties 
of  either  nature  are  indifferently  predicated  of  the  Person. 
Section  VIII.  teaches — (1.)  Christ  as  mediatorial  King  applies  his  re- 
demption to  those  for  whom  he  purchased  it.  (2.)  He  applies  it  (a) 
by  intercession,  (b)  revelation,  (e)  effectual  calling,  (d)  providences. 
(3.)  He  certainly  applies  it  to  "all  those  for  whom  he  hath  pur- 
chased it" 218 


CHAPTER    IX.  V 

OF    FREE    WILL. 

Section  I.  teaches  that  man  is  endowed  with  a  rational  and  moral 
power  of  self-determination. 

Sections  II.,  III.,  IV.  and  V.  teach  the  peculiar  conditions  of  human 
Jioerty.  (1.)  In  the  estate  of  original  innocence.  (2.)  In  the  pres- 
ent estate  of  sin.  (3.)  In  the  estate  of  imperfectly  sanctified  saints 
on  earth.     (I.)  In  the  estate  of  glory 230 


CHAPTER  X.  S 

OF     EFFECTUAL    CALLING. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  That  there  is  an  internal  as  well  as  an 
external  call  necessary  to  save  men.  (2.)  Its  subjects  are  the  elect 
only.  (3.)  The  Holy  Ghost  is  sole  agent,  who  effects  it  by  the  in- 
strumentality of  the  truth.  (4.)  It  consists  in  an  effectual  act  of 
divine  power.  (5.)  It  effects  a  radical  change  in  the  moral  condition 
of  the  whole  man. 

Section  III.  teaches  that  infants  and  others  incapable  of  knowing  the 
truth  are  regenerated  by  the  Spirit  without  it. 

Section  IV.  teaches — (1.)  The  non-elect  will  perish  certainly,  but  only 
because  they  freely  reject  Christ.  (2.)  Men  can  be  saved  only  by 
Christ.  (3.)  In  the  case  of  sane  adults  the  knowledge  of  Christ  and 
his  work  is  necessary 244 


CHAPTER  XL" 

OF    JUSTIFICATION. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  All  and  only  those  effectually  called 
are  justified.  (2.)  Justification  is  a  judicial  act  of  God,  and  is  a 
declaration  that  the  person  justified  is  right  in  the  eye  of  law.  (3.) 
It  proceeds  upon  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness.     (4.)  This 


12  CONTENTS. 

PAOl 

imputation  is  conditioned  on  faith.  (5.)  This  faith  is  the  gift  of 
God.     (6.)  Faith  alone,  but  not  faith  which  is  alone,  justifies. 

Section  III.  teaches — (1.)  That  justification  proceeds  upon  the  full 
legal  satisfaction  rendered  by  Christ.  (2.)  It  is  nevertheless  a  stu- 
pendous exercise  of  free  grace. 

Section  IV.  teaches  that  the  elect  are  never  justified  until  they  believe 
in  Christ. 

Sections  V.  and  VI.  teach — (1.)  That  justified  men,  although  they 
may  temporarily  fall  under  God's  displeasure  because  of  sin,  will 
never  be  finally  abandoned.  (2.)  The  Old  Testament  believers  were 
justified  upon  the  same  principles  as  modern  believers 249 

CHAPTER  XIl/ 

OF     ADOPTION. 

The  relation  of  regeneration,  faith,  justification,  sanctification  and 
adoption.     The  elements  and  consequences  of  adoption 263 

CHAPTER  XIII.  ^ 

OF    SANCTIFICATION. 

This  Chapter  teaches — (1.)  The  gracious  principle  implanted  in  re- 
generation is  gradually  developed  in  sanctification.  (2.)  Sanctifica- 
tion is  both  negative  and  positive.  (3.)  It  involves  the  entire  man. 
(4.)  It  is  never  perfect  in  this  life.  (5.)  Nevertheless,  through 
grace  it  shall  never  fail 274 


CHAPTER  XIV. ' 

OF    SAVING    FAITH. 

Saving  faith  defined.  Section  I.  teaches — (1)  That  saving  faith  is 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (2)  by  means  of  the  Word,  (3)  and 
strengthened  by  the  use  of  the  sacraments  and  prayer. 

Section  II.  teaches — (1.)  Saving  faith  rests  upon  the  truth  of  God 
speaking  in  the  Word.  (2.)  It  embraces  all  the  contents  of  the 
\)  crd.  (3.)  It  is  a  complex  state  of  mind  varying  with  its  objects. 
(4.)  The  specific  act  of  faith  which  justifies  includes  (a)  assent, 
(6)  trust. 

Section  III.  teaches — (1.)  True  faith  varies  in  different  persons  in 
degree,  and  in  the  same  person  at  different  times.  (2.)  It  is  assailed 
and  often  enfeebled,  but  always  gains  the  victory.  (3.)  In  time  it 
grows  up  to  the  measure  of  full  assurance. ,M, 284 


CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER  XV.  * 

OF    REPENTANCE     UNTO    LIFE. 

PAGH 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  True  repentance  rests  on  (a)  sense  of 
guilt  and  pollution,  (b)  apprehension  of  mercy  in  Christ.  (2.)  It 
consists  in  (a)  hatred  of  sin,  (6)  turning  unto  God,  (c)  an  endeavour 
after  new  obedience.  (3.)  It  is  both  a  duty  and  a  grace.  (4.)  It 
should  be  faithfully  preached. 

Sections  III.,  IV.  and  V.  teach — (1.)  There  is  no  merit  in  repentance. 
(2.)  The  greatest  sin  when  repented  of  will  be  forgiven.  (3.)  We 
should  repent  of  the  sinfulness  of  our  nature,  and  of  every  sinful  act 
in  particular. 

Section  VI.  teaches — (1.)  That  every  man  should  make  private  con- 
fession of  sin  to  God.  (2.)  Should  confess  injuries  to  the  person 
injured,  and  public  offences  to  the  Church.  (3.)  Christians  should 
forgive  all  repentant  offenders.... 297 


CHAPTER  XVI.  ^ 

OF    GOOD    WORKS. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  Every  work  in  order  to  be  good  must 
(a)  be  commanded;  (b)  must  spring  from  a  good  motive.  (2.)  The 
effects  of  good  works  are  various  and  as  follow. 

Section  III.  teaches — (1.)  The  ability  to  produce  good  works  is  wholly 
from  God.  (2.)  Continuous  sanctifying  as  well  as  regenerative  grace 
is  needed.  (3.)  Nevertheless  we  must  exert  ourselves  and  use  means 
thereto. 

Sections  IV.,  V.  and  VI.  teach — (1.)  Works  of  "  supererogation  "  are 
impossible.  (2.)  The  best  works  of  believers  imperfect.  (3.)  They 
are  nevertheless  accepted  through  Christ  and  rewarded  for  his  sake. 

Section  VII.  teaches — (1.)  Works  of  unregenerate  men  may  be  good 
relatively  to  their  fellows.  (2.)  But  relatively  to  God  they  are  all 
irreligious  and  unacceptable 313 

CHAPTER  XVII. / 

OF    THE     PERSEVERANCE    OF    THE    SAINTS. 

This  Chapter  teaches— (1.)  The  true  believer  can  never  finally  fall 
away.  (2.)  The  ground  of  this  certain  perseverance  is  not  in  the 
believer,  but  in  th<?  purpose,  promise  and  grace  of  God.  (3.)  The 
true  believer  may,  however,  fall  temporarily,  the  occasions  and  effects 
of  which  falls  are  as  follow 321 


14  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

OP   ASSURANCE   OF  GRACE  AND  SALVATION. 

PASS 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  There  is  a  false  assurance  which  dis- 
appoints. (2.)  There  is  a  true  assurance  amounting  to  an  infallible 
certainty.  (3.)  It  rests  (a)  upon  the  divine  truth  of  the  promises, 
(b)  upon  the  inward  evidence  of  grace,  (c)  upon  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit. 

Sections  III.  and  IV.  teach— (1.)  This  assurance  is  not  of  the  essence 
of  faith.  (2.)  It  is  attainable,  and  should  be  sought  as  a  great  ad- 
vantage. (3.)  May  be  lost  in  divers  ways.  (4.)  The  true  believer 
is  never  allowed  finally  to  fall  into  despair,  and  assurance  once  lost 
may  be  revived 335 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

OF  THE   LAW   OF  GOD. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  Man  was  created  a  moral  agent,  sub- 
ject to  a  moral  law  of  absolute  perfection.  (2.)  God  put  Adam,  the 
natural  head  of  the  human  race,  under  trial  of  obedience  for  a  spe- 
cial probationary  period.  (3.)  This  law  since  the  fall  is  not  the 
condition  of  salvation,  but  continues  the  standard  of  life  and  cha- 
racter. (4.)  It  is  summarily  comprehended  in  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. 

Sections  III.,  IV.  and  V.  teach — (1.)  God  gave  the  Jews  also  a  cere- 
monial law.  (2.)  Also  a  system  of  judicial  laws.  (3.)  Both  these 
have  ceased  to  be  in  force  in  the  Christian  dispensation.  (4.)  On 
the  other  hand,  the  moral  law  continues  in  unabated  force. 

Sections  VI.  and  VII.  teach — (1.)  Since  the  fall  no  man  can  be  saved 
by  the  law.  (2.)  Believers  are  not  under  the  law  as  a  condition  of 
ealvation.  (3.)  Nevertheless,  the  law  is  of  manifold  uses  under  the 
gospel,  as  follows 357 

CHAPTER  XX. 

OF   CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY   AND    LIBERTY   OF   CONSCIENCE. 

Section  I.  teaches — (1)  Christian  liberty  is  common  to  all  believers  in 
all  ages,  and  includes  (a)  deliverance  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  (b)  and 
from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  (c)  peace  with  God,  (d)  deliver- 
ance from  the  bondage  of  Satan,  (e)  and  of  afflictions  and  death, 
(/)  and  of  the  grave.  (2.)  This  liberty  is  greater  under  the  new 
than  under  the  old  dispensation. 


CONTENTS.  15 

PAOI 

Sections  II.,  III.  and  IV.  teach — (1.)  God  alone  is  Lord  of  the  con- 
science. (2.)  His  will  is  revealed  only  in  Scripture.  (3.)  Hence 
either  to  require  or  to  yield  belief  to  the  doctrines  of  men  is  treason 
to  God.  (4.)  Christian  liberty  has,  however,  its  due  end  and  limits. 
(5.)  God  has  established  both  Church  and  State,  and  requires  obe- 
dience to  each.  (6.)  The  Church  has  a  divine  right  of  exercising 
government  and  discipline 365 

CHAPTEK  XXI. 

OP   RELIGIOUS   WORSHIP   AND   THE   SABBATH    DAY. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  The  obligation  of  worship  is  a  dictate 
of  nature.  (2.)  Scripture  prescribes  how  we  should  worship  God, 
and  all  man-prescribed  methods  are  sinful.  (3.)  The  Father,  Son 
and  Holy  Ghost  the  only  proper  object  of  worship,  and  all  worship 
must  be  offered  through  Christ.  (4.)  Worship  of  saints  and  angels 
unlawful. 

Sections  III.  and  IV.  teach — (1.)  Prayer  is  a  principal  part  of  wor- 
ship. (2.)  It  should  be  offered  for  all  men.  (3.)  The  conditions  of 
acceptable  prayer  as  follow.     (4.)  The  object  of  prayer  as  follows. 

Sections  V.  and  VI.  teach  of  public,  family  and  private  worship,  etc. 

Sections  VII.  and  VIII.  teach  of  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  and  the 
proper  method  of  its  observance 387 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

OP  LAWFUL  OATHS  AND   VOWS. 

Sections  I.,  II.,  III.  and  IV.  teach — (1.)  The  nature  of  a  lawful  oath. 
(2.)  The  only  Name  in  which  it  is  lawful  to  swear.  (3.)  The  pro- 
priety of  taking  oaths  upon  lawful  occasions.  (4.)  The  sense  in 
which  an  oath  is  to  be  interpreted.  (5.)  The  extent  and  grounds 
of  its  obligation. 

Sections  V.,  VI.  and  VII.  teach  of  the  nature  and  obligations  of  a 
vow 397 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

OF   THE   CIVIL   MAGISTRATE. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  Civil  government  originates  not  with 
the  people,  but  with  God;  this  proved.  (2.)  The  proximate  end  the 
good  of  the  community;  the  ultimate  end  the  glory  of  God.  (3.) 
Christian  magistrates  should  promote  piety,  etc.  (4.)  It  is  lawful 
for  Christians  to  be  magistrates.     (5.)  Justifiable  war  is  lawful. 


16  CONTENTS. 

PAM 

Sections  III.  ani  IV.  teach,  in  opposition  to  Rt  nish  and  Erastian 
error,  that  the  State  and  Church  are  not  to  interfere  with  one 
another 408 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

OF   MARRIAGE   AND   DIVORCE. 

Sections  L,  II.  and  III.  teach — (1.)  Marriage  is  a  divine  institution, 
and  a  religious  as  well  as  a  civil  contract.  (2.)  The  ends  of  the 
institution  are  as  follow.  (3.)  Lawful  only  between  one  woman  and 
one  man  at  a  time.  (4.)  Marriage  lawful  for  all  men,  and  good. 
(5.)   Persons  of  different  religions  should  not  intermarry. 

Sections  IV.,  V.  and  VI.  teach — (1.)  The  divine  law  as  to  incest. 
(2.)  As  to  divorce 420 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

OF   THE   CHURCH. 


V 


Sections  I.,  II.  and  III.  teach — (1.)  The  scriptural  doctrine  as  to  the 
invisible  catholic  Church.  (2.)  As  to  the  visible  catholic  Church. 
(3.)  That  this  catholic  visible  Church  is  endowed  with  the  means 
of  grace.     (4.)  That  out  of  it  is  no  ordinary  possibility  of  salvation. 

Sections  IV.,  V.  and  VI.  teach — (1.)  That  the  visible  catholic  Church 
varies  in  purity  and  visibility  at  different  times  and  places.  (2.) 
That  it  can  never  fail.  (3.)  That  Christ  is  the  only  Head  of  the 
Church 435 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

OF  COMMUNION   OF  SAINTS. 

This  Chapter  teaches — (1.)  Of  the  union  of  Christ  and  his  people. 
(2.)  Of  his  consequent  fellowship  with  them.  (3.)  Of  their  union 
with  one  another.  (4.)  Their  consequent  fellowship.  (5.)  Their 
mutual  duties. 444 

CHAPTER  XXVII.  v 

OF    THE     SACRAMENTS. 

Sections  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  A  sacrament  is  an  ordinance  instituted 
by  Christ.  (2.)  It  consists  of  (a)  a  visible  sign;  (6)  an  inward 
spiritual  grace  signified  by  it.  (3.)  The  nature  and  consequents  of 
the  sacramental  union  between  the  sign  and  the  grace.  (4.)  They 
are  designed  to  "  represent,  seal  and  apply  "  the  benefits  of  Christ 
to  believers.     (5.)  And  to  be  badges  of  our  profession. 


CONTENTS.  17 

PAOl 

Section  III.  teaches — (1.)  That  the  virtue  of  the  sacrament  is  not  in- 
herent. (2.)  That  it  does  not  depend  upon  the  piety  or  "intention" 
of  the  administrator.  (3.)  But  upon  (a)  the  divine  appointment, 
(6)  the  sovereign  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Section  IV.  teaches  that  there  are  only  two  sacraments. 

Section  V.  teaches  that  the  sacraments  of  the  old  and  the  new  dis- 
pensations were  substantially  the  same 459 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.  V 

OF   BAPTISM. 

Sections  I.,  II.  and  III.  teach— (1.)  Baptism  is  a  New  Testament 
sacrament.  (2.)  It  is  a  washing  with  water  in  the  name  of  the 
Trinity.  (3.)  Its  design  is  to  signify  and  seal  our  engrafting  into 
Christ  and  our  engagement  to  be  his. 

Section  IV.  teaches  that  not  only  professors  of  religion,  "but  also  the 
infants  of  one  or  both  believing  parents,  are  to  be  baptized." 

Sections  V.,  VI.  and  VII.  teach — (1.)  Baptism  is  not  essential  to  sal- 
vation. (2.)  Its  observance,  however,  a  duty.  (3.)  Its  efficacy  is 
not  tied  down  to  the  moment  of  application.  (4.)  To  be  adminis- 
tered but  once 481 


CHAPTER  XXIX.  ^ 

OF   THE   LORD'S   SUPPER. 

Section  I.  teaches — (1.)  Of  the  time  and  the  Person  by  whom  this  or- 
dinance was  instituted.  (2.)  Of  its  perpetual  obligation.  (3.)  Of 
its  design  and  effect. 

Sections  II.,  III.,  IV.,  V.  and  VI.  teach  the  true  doctrine  in  opposition 
to  the  following  errors:  (].)  Transubstantiation.  (2.)  Sacrifice  of 
the  mass.  (3.)  The  elevation  and  worship  of  the  elements.  (4.) 
Denying  the  cup  to  the  laity.     (5.)  Private  communion. 

Sections  VII.  and  VIII.  teajh — (1.)  The  relation  between  the  bread 
and  wine  and  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ  only  moral.  (2.)  Christ's 
body  is  present  only  virtually.  (3.)  Believers  feed  on  him  only 
through  faith,  (5)  precisely  as  they  do  at  other  times 495 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

OF   CHURCH   CENSURES. 

bECTTON  I.  teaches — (1.)  Christ  has  appointed  a  government  for  th« 
Church,  (2)  which  is  di?tinet  from  that  of  the  State, 
2 


18  CONTENTS, 


PAOB 


Sections  II.,  III.  and  IV.  teach— (1.)  As  to  the  nature  and  extent  of 
church  power.  (2.)  As  to  the  ends  of  discipline.  (3.)  As  to  the 
methods  through  which  it  should  be  administered 504 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

OF   SYNODS   AND   COUNCILS. 

Section  I.  teaches  of  synods  and  councils,  and  the  right  of  church 
officers  to  call  them. 

Suctions  II.,  III.  and  IV.  teach— (1.)  The  classes  of  subjects  falling 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  synods  and  councils.  (2.)  The  grounds  of 
their  binding  power.  (3.)  The  extent  to  which  submission  to  their 
decisions  is  a  duty 514 


CHAPTER  XXXII 


/ 


OF   THE   STATE    OF   MEN    AFTER    DEATH,    AND    OF    THE    RESURREC- 
TION  OF   THE   DEAD. 

Section  I.  teaches — (1.)  Man  consists  of  soul  and  body.  (2.)  In  death 
the  body  decomposes,  and  the  soul  of  the  believer  (a)  is  at  once  made 
perfect,  (b)  continues  conscious  and  happy,  (c)  is  with  Christ,  (d.) 
The  souls  of  the  wicked  are  in  conscious  misery  with  the  devil,  (e.) 
These  conditions  are  irreversible.  (/.)  Romish  doctrine  as  to  pur- 
gatory, etc.,  disproved. 

Sections  II.  and  III.  teach — (1.)  There  is  to  be  a  simultaneous  resur- 
rection of  the  just  and  of  the  unjust.  (2.)  Those  then  living  are  to 
be  changed.  (3.)  The  identical  bodies  laid  in  the  grave  to  be  raised. 
(4.)  The  animal  bodies  of  the  saints  to  be  made  "spiritual."  (5.) 
The  bodies  of  the  unjust  to  be  raised  to  dishonour 526 

CHAPTER   XXXIII.  / 

OF     THE     EAST     JUDGMENT. 

Suctions  I.  and  II.  teach — (1.)  God  has  appointed  a  day  of  general 
judgment.  (2.)  He  has  committed  the  judgment  to  the  Mediator. 
(3.)  The  persons  to  be  judged  include  angels  and  the  whole  human 
race.  (4.)  It  is  to  reach  to  thoughts  and  feelings  as  well  as  words 
and  deeds.  (5.)  It  will  vindicate  the  justice  and  display  the  grace 
of  God.  (6.)  The  righteous  are  to  be  exalted  to  eternal  honour  and 
felicity.  (7.)  The  ungodly  are  to  be  remanded  to  conscious  misery 
and  dishonour  for  all  eternity. 

Section  III.  teaches — (1.)  Of  the  certainty  of  the  fact,  (2)  but  of  the 
uncertainty  of  the  tine  of  the  judgment,  and  of  the  designed  effect 
of  this  uncertainty 538 

Appendix  I ., 539 

Appendix  II 544 


INTRODUCTION. 


CHAPTER    I. 

A   SHORT   HISTORY   OF   CREEDS   AND   CONFESSIONS. 

It  is  asserted  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  Confession,  and  vin- 
dicated in  this  exposition  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  having  been  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  are 
for  man  in  his  present  state  the  only  and  the  all-sufficient  rule  of 
faith  and  practice.  All  that  man  is  to  believe  concerning  God, 
and  the  entire  duty  which  God  requires  of  man,  are  revealed 
therein,  and  are  to  be  believed  and  obeyed  because  contained 
therein,  because  it  is  the  word  of  God.  This  divine  word,  there- 
fore, is  the  only  standard  of  doctrine  which  has  intrinsic  authority 
binding  the  conscience  of  men.  And  all  other  standards  are  of 
value  or  authority  only  in  proportion  as  they  teacb  what  the 
Scriptures  teach. 

While,  however,  the  Scriptures  are  from  God,  the  understand- 
ing of  them  belongs  to  the  part  of  men.  Men  must  interpret  to 
the  best  of  their  ability  each  particular  part  of  Scripture  sepa- 
rately, and  then  combine  all  that  the  Scriptures  teach  upon  every 
subject  into  a  consistent  whole,  and  then  adjust  their  teachings 
upon  different  subjects  in  mutual  consistency  as  parts  of  a  har- 
monious system.  Every  student  of  the  Bible  must  do  this,  and 
all  make  it  obvious  that  they  do  it  by  the  terms  they  use  in  their 
prayers  and  religious  discourse,  whether  they  admit  or  deny  the 
propriety  of  human  creeds  and  confessions.  If  they  refuse  the 
assistance  afforded  by  tho  statements  of  doctrine  slowly  elabo 

19 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

rated  and  defined  by  the  Church,  they  must  make  out  their  own 
creed  by  their  own  unaided  wisdom.     The  real  question  is  not, 

.  as  often  pretended,  between  the  word  of  God  and  the  creed  of 
man,  but  between  the  tried  and  proved  faith  of  the  collective 
body  of  God's  people,  and.  the  private  judgment  and  the  un- 

I  assisted  wisdom  of  the  repudiator  of  creeds. 

As  we  would  have  anticipated,  it  is  a  matter  of  fact  that  the 

/Church  has  advanced  very  gradually  in  this  work  of  the  accurate 
interpretation  of  Scripture  and  definition  of  the  great  doctrines 
which  compose  the  system  of  truth  it  reveals.  The  attention  of 
the  Church  has  been  specially  directed  to  the  study  of  one  doc- 
trine in  one  age,  and  of  another  doctrine  in  another  age.  And  as 
she  has  thus  gradually  advanced  in  the  clear  discrimination  of 
gospel  truth,  she  has  at  different  periods  set  down  an  accurate 
statement  of  the  results  of  her  new  attainments  in  a  Creed  or 
J"  Confession  of  Faith,  for  the  purpose  of  preservation  and  popular 
instruction.  In  the  mean  time,  heretics  spring  up  on  all  occa- 
sions, who  pervert  the  Scriptures,  who  exaggerate  certain  aspects 
of  the  truth  and  deny  others  equally  essential,  and  thus  in  effect 

-  turn  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie.     The  Church  is  forced,  there- 

-  fore,  on  the  great  principle  of  self-preservation,  to  form  such  ac- 

-  curate  definitions  of  every  particular  doctrine  misrepresented  as 
shall  include  the  whole  truth  and  exclude  all  error,  and  to  make 
such  comprehensive  exhibitions  of  the  system  of  revealed  truth 
as  a  whole  that  no  one  part  shall  be  either  unduly  diminished  or 
exaggerated,  but  the  true  proportion  of  the  whole  be  preserved. 
At  the  same  time,  provision  must  be  made  for  ecclesiastical  dis- 
cipline, and  to  secure  the  real  co-operation  of  those  who  profess 
to  work  together  in  the  same  cause,  so  that  public  teachers  in  the 
same  communion  may  not  contradict  one  another,  and  the  one 
pull  down  what  the  other  is  striving  to  build  up.  Formularies 
must  also  be  prepared,  representing  as  far  as  possible  the  com- 
mon consent,  and  clothed  with  public  authority,  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  members  of  the  Church,  and  especially  of  the  children. 

Creeds  and  Confessions,  therefore,  have  been  found  necessary 
in  all  ages  and  branches  of  the  Church,  and,  when  not  abused, 
have  been  useful  for  the  following  purposes:  (1.)  To  mark, 
disseminate  and  preserve  the  attainments  made  in  the  knowledge 


HISTORY   OF    CREEDS.  21 

of  Christian  truth  by  any  branch  of  the  Church  in  any  crisis  of 
its  development.  (2.)  To  discriminate  the  truth  from  the  glosses 
of  false  teachers,  and  to  present  it  in  its  integrity  and  due  pro- 
portions. (3.)  To  act  as  the  basis  of  ecclesiastical  fellowship 
among  those  so  nearly  agreed  as  to  be  able  to  labor  together  in 
harmony.  (4. )  To  be  used  as  instruments  in  the  great  work  of 
popular  instruction. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  matter  of  these 
Creeds  and  Confessions  binds  the  consciences  of  men  only  so  far 
as  it  is  purely  scriptural,  and  because  it  is  so;  and  as  to  the 
form  in  which  that  matter  is  stated,  they  bind  those  only  who 
have  voluntarily  subscribed  the  Confession,  and  because  of  that 
subscription. 

In  all  churches  a  distinction  is  made  between  the  terms  upon 
which  private  members  are  admitted  to  membership,  and  the 
terms  upon  which  office-bearers  are  admitted  to  their  sacred  trusts 
of  teaching  and  ruling.  A  Church  has  no  right  to  make  anything 
a  condition  of  membership  which  Christ  has  not  made  a  condi- 
tion of  salvation.  The  Church  is  Christ's  fold.  The  sacraments 
are  the  seals  of  his  covenant.  All  have  a  right  to  claim  admit- 
tance who  make  a  credible  profession  of  the  true  religion — that  is, 
who  are  presumptively  the  people  of  Christ.  This  credible  pro- 
fession of  course  involves  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  Christianity — a  declaration  of  personal  faith  in 
Christ  and  consecration  to  his  service,  and  a  temper  of  mind  and 
habit  consistent  therewith.  On  the  other  hand,  no  man  can  be 
inducted  into  any  office  in  any  Church  who  does  not  profess  to 
believe  in  the  truth  and  wisdom  of  the  constitution  and  laws 
which  it  will  be  his  duty  to  conserve  and  administer.  Otherwise 
all  harmony  of  sentiment  and  all  efficient  co-operation  in  action 
would  be  impossible. 

The  original  Synod  of  our  American  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  year  1729  solemnly  adopted  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith  and  Catechisms  as  the  doctrinal  standards  of  the  Church. 
The  record  is  as  follows  : 

"All  the  ministers  of  the  Synod  now  present,  which  were 
eighteen  in  number,  except  one,  that  declared  himself  not  pre- 
pared, [but  who  gave  his  assent  at  the  next  meeting],  after  propo* 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

ing  all  the  scruples  any  of  them  had  to  make  against  any  articles 
and  expressions  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  Larger  and  Shorter 
Catechisms  of  the  Assembly  of  Divines  at  Westminster,  have 
unanimously  agreed  in  the  solution  of  those  scruples,  and  in  de- 
claring the  said  Confession  and  Catechisms  to  be  the  Confession 
of  their  Faith,  except  only  some  clauses  in  the  twentieth  and 
twenty- third  chapters,  '  Concerning  the  Civil  Magistrate.'  " 

Again,  in  the  year  1788,  preparatory  to  the  formation  of  the 
General  Assembly,  "the  Synod,  having  fully  considered  the 
draught  of  the  Form  of  Government  and  Discipline,  did,  on 
review  of  the  whole,  and  hereby  do,  ratify  and  adopt  the  same, 
as  now  altered  and  amended,  as  the  Constitution  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  America,  and  order  the  same  to  be  considered 
and  strictly  observed  as  the  rule  of  their  proceedings,  by  all  the 
inferior  judicatories  belonging  to  the  body. 

"  The  Synod,  having  now  revised  and  corrected  the  draught  of 
a  Directory  for  Worship,  did  approve  and  ratify  the  same,  and  do 
herebj'  appoint  the  same  Directory,  as  now  amended,  to  be  the 
Directory  for  the  worship  of  God  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America.  They  also  took  into  consideration 
the  Westminster  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms,  and,  having 
made  a  small  amendment  of  the  Larger,  did  approve  and  do 
hereby  approve  and  ratify  the  said  Catechisms,  as  now  agreed 
on,  as  the  Catechisms  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States.  And  the  Synod  order  that  the  Directory  and  Catechisms 
be  printed  and  bound  up  in  the  same  volume  with  the  Confession 
of  Faith  and  the  Form  of  Government  and  Discipline;  that  the 
whole  be  considered  as  the  standard  of  our  doctrine,  government, 
discipline  and  worship,  agreeably  to  the  resolutions  of  the  Synod 
at  their  present  session." 

What  follows  is  a  very  brief  and  general  history  of  the  princi- 
pal Creeds  and  Confessions  of  the  several  branches  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  In  this  statement  they  are  grouped  according  tc 
the  order  of  time  and  the  churches  which  adhere  to  them : 

I.   The  ancient  Creeds,  which  express  the  common  faith  of  the 
whole  Church. 
The  Crf  eds  formed  before  the  Reformation  are  very  few,  relate 


HISTORY    OF    CREEDS.  23 

to  the  fundamental  principles  of  Christianity,  especially  the  Trin- 
ity and  the  Person  of  the  God-man,  and  are  the  common  heritage 
of  the  whole  Church. 

1st.  The  Apostles  Creed.  This  was  not  written  by  the  apostles, 
but  was  gradually  formed,  by  common  consent,  out  of  the  Con- 
fessions adopted  severally  by  particular  churches,  and  used  in 
the  reception  of  its  members.  It  reached  its  present  form,  and 
universal  use  among  all  the  churches,  about  the  close  of  the 
second  century.  This  Creed  was  appended  to  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chism, together  with  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Ten  Commandments, 
in  the  first  edition  published  by  order  of  Parliament,  "not  as 
though  it  were  composed  by  the  apostles,  or  ought  to  be  esteemed 
canonical  Scripture,  .  .  .  but  because  it  is  a  brief  sum  of  Chris- 
tian faith,  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  anciently  received 
in  the  churches  of  Christ."  It  was  retained  by  the  framers  of 
our  Constitution  as  part  of  the  Catechism.*     It  is  as  follows: 

■  !  I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth ;  and  in  Jesus  Christ  his  only  Son  our  Lord ;  who  was  con- 
ceived by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  suffered 
under  Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried;  he  de- 
scended into  hell  (Hades) ;  the  third  day  he  rose  again  from  the 
dead,  he  ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of 
God  the  Father  Almighty ;  from  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge 
the  quick  and  the  dead.  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost;  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church ;  the  communion  of  saints,  the  forgiveness  of 
sins;  the  resurrection  of  the  body;  and  the  life  everlasting. 
Amen." 

2d.  The  Nicene  Creed.  This  Creed  is  formed  on  the  basis  of 
the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  clauses  relating  to  the  consubstantial 
divinity  of  Christ  being  contributed  by  the  great  Council  held  in 
Nice  in  Bithynia,  A.  D.  325,  and  those  relating  to  the  divinity 
and  personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost  added  by  the  Second  (Ecu- 
menical Council,  held  at  Constantinople,  A.  D.  381 ;  and  the 
"filioque"  clause  added  by  the  Council  of  the  Western  Church, 
held  at  Toledo,  Spain,  A.  D.  569.  In  its  present  form  it  is  the 
Creed  of  the  whole  Christian  Church,  the  Greek  Church  reject- 
ing only  the  last  added  clause.  It  is  as  follows : 
♦Assembly's  Digest,  p.  11. 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

"I  believe  in  one  God,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  all 
things  visible  and  invisible ;  and  in  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Only  begotten  Son  of  God,  begotten  of  his  Father  before  all 
worlds ;  God  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  very  God  of  very  God, 
begotten,  not  made,  being  of  one  substance  with  the  Father ;  by 
whom  all  things  were  made  ;  who,  for  us  men  and  for  our  salva- 
tion, came  down  from  heaven,  and  was  incarnate  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  was  made  man,  and  was  crucified 
also  for  us  under  Pontius  Pilate.  He  suffered  and  was  buried  ; 
and  the  third  day  he  rose  again  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and 
ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father.  And  he  shall  come  again  with  glory  to  judge  both  the 
quick  and  the  dead  ;  whose  kingdom  shall  have  no  end.  And  I 
believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Lord  the  Giver  of  life,  who  pro- 
ceedeth  from  the  Father  and  the  Son  (filioque),  who  with  the 
Father  and  the  Son  together  is  worshipped  and  glorified ;  who 
spake  by  the  prophets.  And  I  believe  in  one  Catholic  and  Apos- 
tolic Church ;  I  acknowledge  one  baptism  for  the  remission  of 
sins ;  and  I  look  for  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  the  life  of 
the  world  to  come." 

3d.  As  subsequently  heretical  opinions  sprang  up  in  its  bosom 
with  respect  to  the  constitution  of  the  person  of  Christ,  the 
Church  was  forced  to  provide  additional  definitions  and  muni- 
ments of  the  truth.  One  heretical  tendency  culminated  in  Nes- 
torianism,  which  maintains  that  the  divine  and  human  natures  in 
Christ  constitute  two  persons.  This  was  condemned  by  the  Creed 
of  the  Council  of  Ephesus,  A.  D.  431.  The  opposite  heretical 
tendency  culminated  in  Eutychianism,  which  maintains  that  the 
divine  and  human  natures  are  so  united  in  Christ  as  to  form  but 
one  nature.  This  was  condemned  by  the  Council  of  Chaleedon, 
A.  D.  451.  These  Creeds,  defining  the  faith  of  the  Church  as 
embracing  two  natures  in  one  person,  are  received  and  approved 
by  the  entire  Church.  They  are  sufficiently  quoted  in  the  body 
of  the  following  "Commentary." 

4th.  The  Aihanasian  Creed.  This  Creed  was  evidently  com- 
posed long  after  the  death  of  the  great  theologian  whose  name  it 
bears,  and  after  the  controversies  closed  and  the  definitions  estab- 
lished by  the  above-mentioned  Councils  of  Ephesus  and  Chalce- 


HISTORY   OF   CREEDS.  25 

don.  It  is  a  grand  and  unique  monument  of  the  unchangeable 
faith  of  the  whole  Church  as  to  the  great  mysteries  of  godliness, 
the  Trinity  of  Persons  in  the  one  God  and  the  duality  of  natures 
in  the  one  Christ.  It  is  too  long  to  quote  here  in  full.  What 
relates  to  the  Person  of  the  God-man  is  as  follows : 

"27.  But  it  is  necessary  to  eternal  salvation  that  he  should 
also  faithfully  believe  in  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
2S.  It  is  therefore  true  faith  that  we  believe  and  confess  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  both  God  and  man.  29.  He  is  God ;  gene- 
rated from  eternity  from  the  substance  of  the  Father ;  man  born 
in  time  from  the  substance  of  his  Mother.  30.  Perfect  God, 
perfect  man,  subsisting  of  a  rational  soul  and  human  flesh.  31. 
Equal  to  the  Father  in  respect  to  his  divinity,  less  than  the 
Father  in  respect  to  his  humanity.  32.  Who,  although  he  is 
God  and  man,  is  not  two,  but  one  Christ.  33.  But  two  not  from 
the  conversion  of  divinity  into  flesh,  but  from  the  assumption  of 
his  humanity  into  God.  34.  One  not  at  all  from  confusion  of 
substance,  but  from  unity  of  Person.  35.  For  as  rational  soul 
and  flesh  is  one  man,  so  God  and  man  is  one  Christ,"  etc. 

II.  The  Creeds  and  Confessions  of  the  different  branches  of  the 
Church  since  the  Reformation. 

1st.  The  Doctrinal  Standards  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

In  order  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  Reformation,  Pope  Paul 
III.  called  the  last  great  OEcumenical  Council  at  Trent  (1545- 
1563).  The  deliverances  of  this  Council,  entitled  Canons  and 
Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  form  the  highest  doctrinal  rule 
known  to  that  Church.  The  decrees  contain  the  positive  state- 
ments of  doctrine.  The  canons  explain  the  decrees,  distribute 
the  matter  under  brief  heads  and  condemn  the  opposing  of  Prot- 
estant doctrine  on  each  point. 

The  Roman  Catechism,  which  explains  and  enforces  the  canons 
ef  the  Council  of  Trent,  was  prepared  and  promulgated  by  the 
authority  of  Pope  Pius  IV.,  A.D.  1556. 

The  Tridentine  Confession  of  Faith  was  also  imposed  upon  all 
the  priests  and  candidates  of  the  Romish  Church  and  converts 
from  other  churches. 

In  addition  to  these,  different  papal  bulls  and  some  private 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

writings  have  been  authoritatively  set  up  as  standards  of  the  true 
faith  by  the  authority  of  popes;  e.  g.,  the  Catechism  of  Bellar- 
mine,  A.D.  1G03,  and  the  bull  Unigenitus  of  Clement  XL,  1711. 

The  theology  taught  in  all  these  papal  standards  is  Arminianism. 

2d.  The  Doctrinal  Standards  of  the  Greek  Church. 

The  ancient  Church  divided  from  causes  primarily  political 
and  ecclesiastical,  secondarily  doctrinal  and  ritual,  into  two  great 
sections — the  Eastern  or  Greek  Church,  and  the  Western  or 
Latin  Church.  This  division  began  to  culminate  in  the  seventh, 
and  was  consummated  in  the  eleventh  century.  The  Greek 
Church  embraces  Greece,  the  majority  of  the  Christians  of  the 
Turkish  Empire  and  the  great  mass  of  the  civilized  inhabitants 
of  Russia.  All  the  Protestant  churches  have  originated  through 
the  Reformation  from  the  Western  or  Roman  Church. 

This  Church  arrogates  to  herself  pre-eminently  the  title  of  the 
"  orthodox,"  because  the  original  creeds  defining  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity  and  the  Person  of  Christ,  which  have  been  mentioned 
above,  were  produced  in  the  Eastern  half  of  the  ancient  Church, 
and  hence  are  in  a  peculiar  sense  her  inheritance.  Greek  the- 
ology is  very  imperfectly  developed  beyond  the  ground  covered 
by  these  ancient  creeds,  which  that  Church  magnifies  and  main- 
tains with  singular  tenacity. 

They  possess  also  a  few  confessions  of  more  modern  date,  as 
"The  Orthodox  Confession"  of  Peter  Mogilas,  A.D.  1642,  me- 
tropolitan bishop  of  Kiew,  the  Confession  of  Gennadius,  A.D. 
1453.  ^ -J 

3d.  The  Confessions  of  the  Jt^theranf  Church. 

The  entire  Protestant  world  from  the  time  of  the  Reformation 
has  been  divided  into  two  great  families  of  churches — the  Lu- 
theran, including  all  those  which  received  their  characteristic? 
impress  from  the  great  man  whose  name  they  bear;  the  Re- 
formed, including  all  those,  on  the  other  hand,  which  derived 
their  character  from  Calvin. 

The  Lutheran  family  of  churches  embraces  all  those  Protestants 
of  Germany  and  the  Baltic  provinces  of  Russia  who  adhere  to 
the  Augsburg  Confession,  together  with  the  national  churchea 
of  Denmark,  of  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  the  large  denomination 
of  that  name  in  America, 


HISTORY   OF    CREEDS.  27 

Their  Symbolical  Books  are :  (1.)  The  Augsburg  Confession, 
the  joint  authors  of  which  were  Luther  and  Melancthon.  Hav- 
ing been  signed  by  the  Protestant  princes  and  leaders,  it  was  pre- 
sented to  the  emperor  and  imperial  Diet  in  Augsburg  A.D.  1530. 
It  is  the  oldest  Protestant  confession,  the  ultimate  basis  of  Lu- 
theran theology,  and  the  only  universally  accepted  standard  of 
the  Lutheran  churches. 

(2.)  The  Apology  (Defence)  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  pre- 
pared by  Melancthon  A.D.  1530,  and  subscribed  by  the  Protest- 
ant theologians  A.D.  1537  at  Smalcald. 

(3.)  The  Larger  and  Smaller  Catechisms,  prepared  by  Luther 
A.D.  1529,  "the  first  for  the  use  of  preachers  and  teachers,  the 
iast  as  a  guide  in  the  instruction  of  youth." 

(4.)  The  Articles  of  Smalcald,  drawn  up  by  Luther  A.D. 
1 536,  and  subscribed  by  the  evangelical  theologians  in  February, 
A.D.  1537,  at  the  place  whose  name  they  bear. 

(5.)  The  Formula  Concordiae  (Form  of  Concord),  prepared  in 
A.D.  1577  by  Andrea  and  others  for  the  purpose  of  settling  cer- 
tain controversies  which  had  sprung  up  in  the  Lutheran  Church, 
especially  («)  concerning  the  relative  activities  of  divine  grace 
and  the  human  will  in  regeneration,  (b)  concerning  the  nature 
of  the  Lord's  presence  in  the  Eucharist.  This  confession  con- 
tains a  more  scientific  and  thoroughly  developed  statement  of 
the  Lutheran  doctrine  than  can  be  found  in  any  other  of  their 
public  symbols.  Its  authority  is,  however,  acknowledged  only 
by  the  high  Lutheran  party ;  that  is,  by  that  party  in  the  Church 
which  consistently  carries  the  peculiarities  of  Lutheran  theology 
out  to  the  most  complete  logical  development. 

4th.  The  Confessions  of  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  churches. 

The  Reformed  churches  embrace  all  those  churches  of  Ger- 
many which  subscribe  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  ;  the  Protestant 
churches  of  Switzerland,  France,  Holland,  England  and  Scot- 
land :  the  Independents  and  Baptists  of  England  and  America, 
and  the  various  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  England 
and  America. 

The  Reformed  Confessions  are  very  numerous,  although  they 
all  substantially  agree  as  to  the  system  of  doctrine  they  teach. 
Those  most  generally  received,  and  regarded  as  of  the  highest 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

symbolical  authority  as  standards  of  the  common  system,  are  thft 
following : 

(1.)  The  Second  Helvetic  Confession,  prepared  by  Bullinger, 
A.  D.  15G4.  "  It  was  adopted  by  all  the  Reformed  churches  in 
Switzerland,  with  the  exception  of  Basle  (which  was  content  with 
its  old  symbol,  the  First  Helvetic),  and  by  the  Reformed  churches 
in  Poland,  Hungary,  Scotland  and  France,"*  and  has  always 
been  regarded  as  of  the  highest  authority  by  all  the  Reformed 
churches. 

(2.)  The  Heidelberg  Catechism,  prepared  by  Ursinus  and  Ole- 
vianus,  A.  D.  1562.  It  was  established  by  civil  authority,  the 
doctrinal  standard,  as  well  as  instrument  of  religious  instruction 
for  the  churches  of  the  Palatinate,  a  German  State  at  that  time 
including  both  banks  of  the  Rhine.  It  was  endorsed  by  the  Sy- 
nod of  Dort,  and  is  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Reformed 
churches  of  Germany  and  Holland,  and  of  the  German  and 
[Dutch]  Reformed  churches  in  America. 

(3. )  The  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England.  These 
were  originally  drawn  up  by  Cranmer  and  Ridley,  A.  D.  1551, 
and  revised  and  reduced  to  the  present  number  by  the  bishops, 
at  the  order  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  A.  D.  1562.  These  Articles 
are  Calvinistic  in  doctrine,  and  constitute  the  doctrinal  standard 
of  the  Episcopal  churches  in  England,  Scotland,  America  and 
the  Colonies. 

(4. )  The  Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort.  This  famous  Synod 
was  convened  in  Dort,  Holland,  by  the  authority  of  the  States 
General,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  questions  brought  into 
controversy  by  the  disciples  of  Arminius.  It  held  its  sessions 
from  November  13,  A.  D.  1618,  to  May  9,  A.  D.  1619.  It  con- 
sisted of  pastors,  elders  and  theological  professors  from  the 
churches  of  Holland,  and  deputies  from  the  churches  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Hesse,  Bremen,  the  Palatinate  and  Switzerland  ; 
the  French  delegates  having  been  prevented  from  being  present 
by  order  of  their  king.  The  Canons  of  this  Synod  were  received 
by  all  the  Reformed  churches  as  a  true,  accurate  and  eminently 
authc  ritative  exhibition  of  the  Calvinistic  System  of  Theology. 
They  constitute,  in  connection  with  the  Heidelberg  Catechism, 

*  Shedd's  Hist,  of  Christian  Doctrine. 


HISTORY   OF    CREEDS.  29 

the  doctrinal  Confession  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland, 
and  of  the  [Dutch]  Reformed  Church  of  America. 

(5.)  The  Confession  and  Catechisms  of  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly. A  short  account  of  the  origin  and  constitution  of  this 
Assembly,  and  of  the  production  and  reception  of  its  doctrinal 
deliverances,  is  presented  in  the  next  chapter.  This  is  the  com- 
mon doctrinal  standard  of  all  the  Presbyterian  churches  in  the 
world  of  English  and  Scotch  derivation.  It  is  also  of  all  Creeds 
the  one  most  highly  approved  by  all  the  bodies  of  Congregation 
alists  in  England  and  America.  The  Congregational  Convention 
called  by  Cromwell  to  meet  at  Savoy,  in  London,  A.  D.  1658,  de- 
clared their  approval  of  the  doctrinal  part  of  the  Confession  and 
Catechisms  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  conformed  their 
own  deliverance,  the  Savoy  Confession,  very  nearly  to  it.  Indeed, 
"  the  difference  between  these  two  Confessions  is  so  very  small, 
that  the  modern  Independents  have  in  a  manner  laid  aside  the 
use  of  it  (Savoy  Conf.)  in  their  families,  and  agreed  with  the 
Presbyterians  in  the  use  of  the  Assembly's  Catechisms."* 

All  the  Assemblies  convened  in  New  England  for  the  purpose 
of  settling  the  doctrinal  basis  of  their  churches  have  either  en- 
dorsed or  explicitly  adopted  this  Confession  and  these  Catechisms 
as  accurate  expositions  of  their  own  faith.  This  was  done  by  the 
Synod  which  met  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  June,  1647,  and 
again  August,  1648,  and  prepared  the  Cambridge  Platform. 
And  again  by  the  Synod  which  sat  in  Boston,  September,  1679, 
and  May,  1680,  and  produced  the  Boston  Confession.  And  again 
by  the  Synod  which  met  at  Say  brook,  Connecticut,  1708,  and 
produced  the  Saybrook  Platform. f 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  only  absolute  and  essentially  authoritative 
standard  of  faith  ? 

2.  Whence  do  all  human  Creeds  derive  their  authority? 

3.  Upon  whom  rests  the  necessity  and  obligation  of  gathering 
together  all  the  Scripture  teaches  on  any  subject,  and  of  adju.ywnm 

*  Neal  :  Puritans,  II.  178. 

|  Phedd's  Hist,  of  Christian  Poctrine. 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

£heir  teaching  on  one  subject  with  all  the  other  elements  of  the 
system  of  truth? 

4.  Is  it  better  for  a  man  to  form  these  opinions  without  or  with 
the  assistance  of  the  great  body  of  his  fellow-Christians? 

5.  In  what  form  have  the  opinions  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
Christian  Church  on  these  subjects  been  expressed  and  preserved? 

6.  What  then  is  the  first  great  purpose  for  which  Creeds  and 
Confessions  are  useful  ? 

7.  What  is  the  second  great  end  ? 

8.  What  is  the  third? 

9.  What  is  the  fourth? 

10.  On  what  ground,  and  how  far  does  the  matter  of  these 
Confessions  bind  the  consciences  of  men? 

11.  Whom  and  on  what  ground  does  the  form  of  these  Con- 
fessions bind? 

12.  What  are  the  terms  upon  which  private  members  are  ad- 
mitted to  the  Church  ? 

13.  What  are  the  terms  upon  which  preachers  and  rulers  are 
admitted  to  office  in  the  Church? 

14.  Why  should  the  terms  be  so  far  different  in  the  two  cases? 

15.  When,  and  by  what  representative  body  of  our  Church, 
were  the  Westminster  Confession  and  Catechisms  first  adopted 
as  our  standard  of  faith  ? 

16.  Read  the  adopting  act. 

17.  Read  the  action  of  the  General  Synod,  passed  A.  D.  1788. 

18.  To  what  class  of  topics  do  all  the  Creeds  before  the  Refor- 
mation relate? 

19.  What  is  the  origin  of  what  is  commonly  called  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed? 

20.  fias  it  always  had  a  place  in  our  Catechism? 

21.  Read  it. 

22.  When  and  by  what  Councils  was  the  Nicene  Creed  pro- 
duced ? 

23.  Read  it. 

24.  What  opposite  heretical  tendencies,  respecting  the  Person 
of  Christ,  subsequently  sprang  up  in  the  Church  ? 

25.  What  was  the  date  and  design  of  the  Creed  of  the  Council 
of  Ephesus? 


HISTORY   OF   CREEDS.  31 

26    What  was  the  date  and  design  of  the  Creed  of  the  Council 
of  Chalcedon?    , 

27.  What  was  the  origin  of  the  Creed  falsely  attributed  to  the 
great  Athanasius? 

28.  Read  that  portion  of  it  which  relates  to  the  Person  of 
Christ. 

29.  What  are  the  doctrinal  standards  of  the  Church  of  Rome? 

30.  What  is  the  character  of  the  theology  they  teach  ? 

31.  When,  why,  and  into  what  divisions  did  the  Church  of  the 
Middle  Ages  separate  ? 

32.  What  countries  are  embraced  in  the  bounds  of  the  Greek 
Church? 

33.  What  are  the  doctrinal  standards  of  the  Greek  Church? 

34.  Into  what  two  great  divisions  did  the  churches  of  the 
Reformation  separate  ? 

35.  What    is    the    common  characteristic  of   the  Lutheran 
churches  ? 

36.  What    is    the  common  characteristic  of  the  Reformed 
churches  ? 

37.  What  churches  belong  to  the  Lutheran  family? 

38.  What  is  the  name,  date  and  origin  of  their  principal  and 
universally-received  standard  of  faith? 

39.  What  are  their  other  symbolical  books? 

40.  What  is  the  origin,  purpose  and  character  of  the  Form  of 
Concord,  and  in  what  estimation  is  it  held? 

41.  What  churches  are  embraced  in  the  Reformed  or  Calvin- 
istic  family  ? 

42.  What  account  is  here  given  of  the  Second  Helvetic  Con- 
fession ? 

43.  What  account  is  here  given  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism? 

44.  Of  what  churches  is  it  the  accredited  standard? 

45.  What  is  here  said  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church 
of  England  ? 

46.  By  whom,  where,  when  and  for  what  purpose  was  the 
Synod  of  Dort  convened  ? 

47.  Of  what  parties  was  it  composed? 

48.  In  what  estimation  have  its  "Canons"  been  held,  and  of 
what  churches  arc  they  the  standard? 


32  INTRODUCTION. 

49.  Of  what  churches  are  the  Westminster  Confession  and 
Catechisms  the  standard  of  faith  ? 

50.  How  far  have  they  been  adopted  by  the  Congregationalista 
of  England? 

51.  Upon  what  occasions  and  to  what  extent  have  they  been 
adopted  by  the  Congregationalists  of  New  England? 


CHAPTER    II. 

*OME     ACCOUNT    OF    THE    ORIGIN     OF    THE     WESTMINSTER 
CONFESSION    AND    CATECHISMS. 

Most  of  the  Confessions  of  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran 
churches  were  composed  by  single  authors,  or  by  a  small 
group  of  theologians  to  whom  the  task  of  drawing  up  a  standard 
of  doctrine  had  been  committed.  Thus,  Luther  and  Melancthon 
were  the  principal  authors  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  the 
common  standard  of  faith  and  bond  of  union  of  the  Lutheran 
churches.  The  Second  Helvetic  Confession  was  composed  by 
Bullinger,  to  whom  the  work  was  entrusted  by  a  number  of 
Swiss  theologians;  and  the  celebrated  Heidelberg  Catechism 
was  composed  by  Ursinus  and  Olevianus,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed thereto  by  Frederick  III. ,  Crown  Prince  of  the  Palatinate. 
The  Old  Scotch  Confession,  which  was  the  standard  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Scotland  for  nearly  one  hundred  years  before 
the  adoption  of  the  Westminster  Confession,  was  composed  by  a 
committee  of  six  theologians,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  John 
Knox,  appointed  by  the  Scottish  Parliament.  The  Thirty-nine 
Articles  of  the  Church  of  England  and  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
of  America  were  prepared  by  the  bishops  of  that  Church  in 
1562,  as  the  result  of  the  revision  of  "The  Forty-two  Articles  of 
Edward  Sixth,"  which  had  been  drawn  up  by  Archbishop  Cran- 
iner  and  Bishop  Ridley  in  1551. 

The  "Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort,"  of  high  authority  among 
all  the  Reformed  churches,  and  the  Standard  of  the  Church  of 
Holland,  were  on  the  other  hand  drawn  up  by  a  great  international 
Synod  convened  in  Dort  by  the  States  General  of  the  Nether- 
lands, and  composed  of  representatives  of  all  the  Reformed 
churches  except  that  of  France.  And  the  Confession  of  Faith 
3  33 


54  INTRODUCTION. 

and  Catechisms  of  our  Church  were  drawn  up  by  a  large  and 
illustrious  national  assembly  of  divines  and  civilians  convened  in 
Westminster,  England,  by  the  Long  Parliament  from  July  1, 
1643,  to  February  22,  1648 ;  a  very  brief  account  of  which  it  is 
the  design  of  this  chapter  to  give. 

The  Reformation  in  Scotland  had  received  its  first  impulse  from 
the  return  of  the  illustrious  Patrick  Hamilton,  in  1528,  from  the 
Continent,  where  he  had  enjoyed  the  instructions  of  Luther  and 
Melancthon.  It  was  in  no  degree  a  political  revolution,  nor  did 
it  originate  with  the  governing  classes.  It  was  purely  a  religions 
revolution,  wrought  among  the  masses  of  the  people  and  the  body 
~oF  the  Church  itself,  under  the  direction  at  different  times  of 
several  very  eminentjeaders,  the  chief  of  whom  were  John  Knox 
and  Andrew  Melville.  ' l  The  Church  of  Scotland  framed  its  Con- 
fession of  Faith  and  its  First  Book  of  Discipline,  and  met  in  its 
first  General  Assembly  for  its  own  government,  seven  years  before 
it  had  even  received  the  sanction  of  the  legislature.  Its  first 
General  Assembly  was  held  in  1 560,  while  the  first  Act  of  Par- 
liament recognizing  it  as  the  National  Church  was  passed  in 
1567."*  It  continued  to  maintain  in  a  good  degree  its  indepen- 
dence of  civil  dictation  and  its  integrity  as  a  Presbyterian  Church 
until  after  King  James  assumed  the  throne  of  England.  After 
that  time,  through  English  influence  and  the  increased  power  of 
the  throne,  the  independence  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  was  often 
temporarily  destroyed.  In  resistance  to  this  invasion  of  their 
religious  liberties,  the  friends  of  liberty  and  of  the  Reformed 
religion  among  the  Scotch  nobility,  clergy  and  people,  signed  the 
ever-memorable  National  Covenant  at  Sterling,  February  28, 
1638,  and  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  between  the  king- 
doms of  England  and  Scotland  in  1643.  "This  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant  (subscribed  by  the  Scotch  General  Assembly,  the 
English  Parliament  and  Westminster  Assembly)  bound  the 
united  kingdoms  to  endeavour  the  preservation  of  the  Reformed 
religion  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  doctrine,  worship,  discipline 
and  government,  and  the  reformation  of  religion  in  the  kingdoms 
of  England  and  Ireland,  according  to  the  Word  of  God  and  the 

*  Hetherington's  "History  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,"  p.  88. 


WESTMINSTER   CONFESSION.  35 

example  of  the  best  Reformed  churches.  "*  It  was  in  furtherance 
of  the  same  design  of  securing  in  both  kingdoms  religious  liberty, 
a  more  perfect  reformation  and  ecclesiastical  uniformity,  that  the 
Scotch  people  gave  the  effective  support  of  their  sympathy  to  the 
English  Parliament  in  their  struggle  with  Charles  I.,  and  that 
the  Scottish  Church  sent  her  most  eminent  sons  as  delegates  to 
the  Westminster  Assembly. 

The  Reformation  in  England  presents  two  distinct  phases— 
that  of  a  genuine  work  of  grace,  and  that  of  a  political  and  eccle- 
siastical revolution.  In  the  former  character  it  was  introduced 
hy  the  publication  of  the  Word  of  God,  the  Greek  Testament  of 
Erasmus,  published  in  Oxford,  1517,  and  the  English  translation 
of  the  Bible  by  Tyndal,  which  was  sent  over  from  Worms  to 
England  in  1526.  By  the  English  Bible,  together  with  the 
labours  of  many  truly  pious  men  both  among  the  clergy  and 
laity,  a  thoroughly  popular  revolution  was  wrought  in  the  relig- 
ion of  the  nation,  and  its  heart  rendered  permanently  Protestant. 
The  real  Reformers  of  England,  such  as  Cranmer,  Ridley, 
Hooper,  Latimer  and  Jewell,  were  truly  evangelical  and  tho- 
roughly Calvinistic,  in  full  sympathy  and  constant  correspondence 
with  the  great  theologians  and  preachers  of  Switzerland  and 
Germany.  This  is  illustrated  in  their  writings,  in  the  Forty- two 
Articles  of  Edward  VI. ,  1551,  the  present  doctrinal  Articles  of 
the  Church  of  England,  prepared  in  1562,  and  even  in  the 
Lambeth  Articles,  drawn  up  by  Archbishop  Whitgift  as  late 
as  1595. 

Although  this  work  of  genuine  reformation  was  in  the  first 
instance  materially  aided  by  the  politico-ecclesiastical  revolution 
introduced  by  Henry  VIII.  and  confirmed  by  his  daughter,  Queen 
Elizabeth,  it  was  nevertheless  greatly  impeded  and  prematurely 
arrested  by  it.  "The  Act  of  Supremacy,"  which  nade  the  sov- 
ereign the  earthly  head  of  the  Church,  and  subjected  all  question*! 
of  doctrine,  church  order  and  discipline  to  his  absolute  control, 
enabled  Elizabeth  to  arrest  the  constitutional  changes  in  the 
Church  set  up  by  the  process  of  reform  at  that  precise  point 
which  was  determined  by  her  worldly  taste  and  her  lust  of  power. 
An  aristocratic  hierarchy  naturally  sided  with  the  Court,  and 
■  Hetborington's  "History  of  (he  Church  of  Scotland,"  )•    1^7. 


36  INTRODUCTION. 

became  the  facile  instrument  of  the  Crown  in  repressing  both  the 
religious  and  civil  liberties  of  the  people.  Gradually  the  struggle 
between  the  party  called  Puritan  and  the  repressive  Court  party 
became  more  intense  and  more  bitter  during  the  whole  period  of 
the  reigns  of  James  I.  and  Charles  I.  A  new  element  of  conflict 
was  introduced  in  the  fact  that  the  despotic  Court  party  naturally 
abandoned  the  Calvinism  of  the  founders  of  the  Church,  and 
adopted  that  Arminianism  which  has  always  prevailed  among 
the  parasites  of  arbitrary  power  and  the  votaries  of  a  church ly 
and  sacramental  religion. 

The  denial  of  all  reform,  and  the  unrelenting  execution  of  the 
"Act  of  Uniformity,"  repressing  all  dissent  while  robbing  the 
people  of  every  trace  of  religious  liberty,  necessarily  led  to  such 
an  extension  of  the  royal  prerogative,  and  such  constant  resort  to 
arbitrary  measures  and  acts  of  violence,  that  the  civil  liberties  of 
the  subject  were  equally  trampled  under  foot.  At  last,  after  hav- 
ing for  an  interval  of  eleven  years  attempted  to  govern  the  nation 
through  the  Star  Chamber  and  Court  of  High  Commission,  and 
having  prorogued  the  refractory  Parliament  which  met  in  the 
spring  of  that  year,  the  king  was  forced  to  appeal  again  to  the 
country,  which  sent  up  in  November,  1640,  that  illustrious  body 
subsequently  known  as  the  Long  Parliament.  In  the  May  of 
the  next  year  this  body  rendered  itself  practically  independent 
of  the  king's  caprice  by  passing  an  act,  providing  that  it  should 
be  dissolved  only  at  its  own  consent,  and  at  the  same  time  all 
the  members  of  both  houses,  except  two  of  the  peers,  subscribed 
a  bond  binding  them  to  persevere  in  the  defence  of  their  liberties 
and  of  the  Protestant  religion.  In  the  same  year  Parliament 
abolished  the  Court  of  High  Commission  and  the  Star  Chamber; 
and  in  November,  1642,  it  was  ordained  that  after  November  5, 
1643,  the  office  of  archbishop  and  bishop,  and  the  whole  framework 
of  prelate  government,  should  be  abolished. 

In  June  12,  1643,  the  Parliament  passed  an  act  entitled  "An 
ordinance  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  in  Parliament,  for  the  call- 
ing of  an  Assembly  of  Divines  and  others,  to  be  consulted  with 
by  the  Parliament  for  the  settling  of  the  government  and  liturgy 
of  the  Church  of  England,  and  clearing  of  the  Doctrine  of  said 
Church  from  false   aspersions   and   interpretations."      As  the 


WESTMINSTER   CONFESSION.  37 

pre-existing  government  of  the  Church  by  bishops  had  ceased 
to  exist,  and  yet  the  Church  of  Christ  in  England  remained,  the 
only  universally  recognized  authority  which  could  convene  the 
representatives  of  the  Church  in  General  Assembly  was  the 
National  Legislature.  The  persons  who  were  to  constitute  this 
Assembly  were  named  in  the  ordinance,  and  comprised  the  flower 
of  the  Church  of  that  age ;  subsequently  about  twenty-one  clergy- 
men were  superadded  to  make  up  for  the  absence  of  others.  The 
original  list  embraced  the  names  of  ten  lords  and  twenty  com- 
moners as  lay-members,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  divines. 
Men  of  all  shades  of  opinion  as  to  Church  government  were  em- 
braced in  this  illustrious  company — Episcopalians,  Presbyterians, 
Independents  and  Erastians.  "In  the  original  ordinance  four 
bishops  were  named,  one  of  whom  actually  attended  on  the  first 
day,  and  another  excused  his  absence  on  the  ground  of  necessary 
duty ;  of  the  others  called,  five  became  bishops  afterward,  and 
about  twenty -five  declined  attending,  partly  because  it  was  not 
a  regular  convocation  called  by  the  king,  and  partly  because  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant  was  expressly  condemned  by  his 
majesty."*  The  Scotch  General  Assembly  also  sent  as  delegates 
to  Westminster  the  best  and  ablest  men  she  had — ministers  Alex- 
ander Henderson,  the  author  of  the  Covenant,  George  Gillespie, 
Samuel  Rutherford  and  Robert  Baillie ;  and  elders  Lord  John 
Maitland  and  Sir  Archibald  Johnston. 

Only  sixty  appeared  the  first  day,  and  the  average  attendance 
during  the  protracted  sittings  of  the  Assembly  ranged  between 
sixty  and  eighty.  Of  these  the  vast  majority  were  Presbyterians, 
after  the  Episcopalians  had  withdrawn  subsequently  to  the  sign- 
ing of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant.  The  vast  majority  of 
the  Puritan  clergy,  after  the  example  of  all  the  Reformed  churches 
of  the  Continent,  were  inclined  to  Presbyterianism,  and  in  many 
places,  especially  in  the  city  of  London  and  its  neighbourhood, 
had  erected  presbyteries. 

There  were  only  five  prominent  Independents  in  the  Assembly, 

headed  by  Dr.  Thomas  Goodwin  and  Rev.  Philip  Nye.     These 

were  called;  from  the  attitude  of  opposition  to  the  majority  which 

they  occupied,  "  The  Five  Dissenting  Brethren."    In  spite  of  the 

*  Set  lerington's  "  History  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,"  p.  99. 


38  INTRODUCTION. 

small  ness  of  their  number,  they  possessed  considerable  influence 
in  hindering,  and  finally  preventing,  the  Assembly  in  its  work  of 
national  ecclesiastical  construction,  and  their  influence  was  due 
to  the  support  they  received  from  politicians  without  the  Assem- 
bly, in  the  Long  Parliament,  in  the  army,  and,  above  all,  from 
the  great  Cromwell  himself. 

The  Erastians,  who  held  that  Christian  pastors  are  simply 
teachers  and  not  rulers  in  the  Church,  and  that  all  ecclesiastical 
as  well  as  all  civil  power  rests  exclusively  with  the  civil  magis- 
trate, were  represented  in  the  Assembly  by  only  two  ministers — 
Thomas  Coleman  and  John  Lightfoot,  assisted  actively  by  the 
learned  layman,  John  Selden.  Their  influence  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  Parliament  sympathized  with  them,  and  as  a  matter 
of  course  all  worldly  politicians. 

The  prolocutor,  or  moderator,  appointed  by  the  Parliament, 
was  Dr.  Twisse,  and  after  his  death  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Herle.  On  the  1st  of  July,  1643,  the  Assembly,  after  hearing  a 
sermon  from  the  prolocutor  in  the  Abbey  Church,  Westminster, 
was  organized  in  Henry  the  VII. 's  Chapel.  After  the  weather 
grew  cold  they  met  in  the  Jerusalem  Chamber,  "a  fair  room  in 
the  Abbey  of  Westminster."  When  the  whole  Assembly  had 
been  divided  for  despatch  of  business  into  three  equal  committees, 
they  took  up  the  work  which  was  first  assigned  to  them  by  Par- 
liament— namely,  the  revision  of  the  "  Thirty-nine  Articles,"  the 
already  existing  Creed  of  the  English  Church.  But  on  the  12th 
of  October,  shortly  after  subscribing  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant, Parliament  directed  the  Assembly  "to  consider  among 
themselves  of  such  a  discipline  and  government  as  may  be  most 
agreeable  to  God's  holy  word."  They  consequently  entered  im 
mediately  upon  the  work  of  preparing  a  Directory  of  Govern- 
ment, Worship  and  Discipline.  Being  delayed  by  constant  con- 
troversies with  the  Independent  and  Erastian  factions,  they  did 
not  complete  this  department  of  their  work  until  near  the  close 
of  1644.  Then  they  began  to  prepare  for  the  composition  of  a 
Confession  of  Faith,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare 
and  arrange  the  main  propositions  to  be  embraced  in  it.  This 
committee  consisted  of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Gouge,  Temple  and  Hoyle ; 


WESTMINSTER   CONFESSION.  39 

Messrs.  Gataker,  Arrowsmith,  Burroughs,  Burgess,  Vines  and 
Goodwin,  with  the  Scotch  Commissioners. 

The  committee  at  first  wrought  at  the  work  of  preparing  the 
Confession  and  Catechisms  simultaneously.  "After  some  prog- 
ress had  been  made  with  both,  the  Assembly  resolved  to  finish 
the  Confession  first,  and  then  to  construct  the  Catechism  on  its 
model."  They  presented  in  a  body  the  finished  Confession  to 
Parliament,  December  3,  1646,  when  it  was  recommitted,  that 
the  "Assembly  should  attach  their  marginal  notes,  to  prove 
every  part  of  it  by  Scripture."  They  finally  reported  it  as 
finished,  with  full  Scripture  proofs  of  each  separate  proposition 
attached,  April  29,  1647. 

The  Shorter  Catechism  was  finished  and  reported  to  Par- 
liament November  5,  1647,  and  the  Larger  Catechism  April  14, 
1 648.  On  the  22d  of  March,  1648,  a  conference  was  held  between 
the  two  Houses,  to  compare  their  opinions  respecting  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  the  result  of  which  is  thus  stated  by  Rush  worth: 

"The  Commons  this  day  (March  22d),  at  a  conference,  pre- 
sented the  Lords  with  a  Confession  of  Faith  passed  by  them, 
with  some  alterations  (especially  concerning  questions  of  disci- 
pline), viz. :  That  they  do  agree  with  their  Lordships,  and  so 
with  the  Assembly,  in  the  doctrinal  part,  and  desire  the  same 
may  be  made  public,  that  this  kingdom,  and  all  the  Reformed 
churches  of  Christendom,  may  see  the  Parliament  of  England 
differ  not  in  doctrine. ' '  * 

The  Confession  of  Faith,  Directory  of  Public  Worship  and 
the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  were  all  ratified  by  the  Scotch 
General  Assembly  as  soon  as  the  several  parts  of  the  work  were 
concluded  at  Westminster. 

On  October  13,  1647,  the  Long  Parliament  established  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  England  experimentally,  "until  the  end 
of  the  next  session  of  Parliament,  which  was  to  be  a  year  afite] 
that  date."  But  before  that  date  the  Parliament  had  become 
subservient  to  the  power  of  the  army  under  Cromwell.  Presby- 
teries and  synods  were  soon  superseded  by  his  Committee  of 
Triers,  while  the  Presbyterian  ministers  were  ejected  in  mass  by 
Charles  II.  in  1662. 

*  Hethorington's  "Hist.  Westminster  Assembly,"  p.  245. 


40  INTRODUCTION. 

After  the  completion  of  the  Catechisms,  many  of  the  members 
quietly  dispersed  and  returned  to  their  homes.  "Those  that 
remained  in  London  were  chiefly  engaged  in  the  examination  of 
such  ministers  as  presented  themselves  for  ordination  or  induc- 
tion into  vacant  charges.  They  continued  to  maintain  their 
formal  existence  until  the  22d  of  February,  1649,  about  three 
weeks  after  the  king's  decapitation,  having  sat  five  years,  six 
months  and  twenty-two  days,  in  which  time  they  had  held  one 
thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  sessions.  They  were  the© 
changed  into  a  committee  for  conducting  the  trial  and  examina 
tion  of  ministers,  and  continued  to  hold  meetings  for  this  pur- 
pose, every  Thursday  morning,  until  March  25,  1652,  when, 
Oliver  Cromwell  having  forcibly  dissolved  the  Long  Parliament 
by  whose  authority  the  Assembly  had  been  at  first  called  together, 
that  committee  also  broke  up,  and  separated  without  any  formal 
dissolution,  and  as  a  matter  of  necessity." 

The  Confession  of  Faith  and  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms 
of  the  Westminster  Assembly  were  adopted  by  the  original  Synod 
in  North  America,  A.  D.  1729,  as  the  "Confession  of  Faith  of 
this  Church,"  and  it  has  been  received  as  the  standard  of  faith 
by  all  the  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Scotland, 
England,  Ireland  and  America ;  and  it  is  highly  reverenced,  and 
its  Catechisms  used  as  means  of  public  instruction,  by  all  the 
Congregational  bodies  of  Puritan  stock  in  the  world.'55' 

Although  the  Westminster  Assembly  resolutery  excluded  from 
their  Confession  all  that  they  recognized  as  savouring  of  Erastian 
error,  yet  their  opinions  as  to  church  establishments  led  to  views 
concerning  the  powers  of  civil  magistrates,  concerning  religious 
things  [circa  sacra),  which  have  always  been  rejected  in  this 
country.  Hence,  in  the  original  "Adopting  Act,"  the  Synod 
declared  that  it  did  not  receive  the  passages  relating  to  this  point 
in  the  Confession  "in  any  such  sense  as  to  suppose  the  civil 
magistrate  hath  a  controlling  power  over  synods  with  respect  to 
the  exercise  of  their  ministerial  authority ;  or  power  to  persecute 
any  for  their  religion,  or  in  any  sense  contrary  to  the  Protestant 
succession  to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain." 

*  See  "  The  West.  Assembly,  its  History  and  Standards,"  by  Alex.  F. 
Mitchell,  D.  D.,  for  the  most  full  and  authoritative  account  of  the 
sources  and  genesis  of  the  Westminster  Confession  and  Catechism. 


WESTMINSTER   CONFESSION.  .  41 

And  again,  when  the  Synod  revised  and  amended  its  stand- 
ards m  1787,  in  preparation  for  the  organization  of  the  General 
Assembly  in  1789,  it  "took  into  consideration  the  last  paragraph 
of  the  twentieth  chapter  of  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith ; 
the  third  paragraph  of  the  twenty-third  chapter,  and  the  first 
paragraph  of  the  thirty-first  chapter;  and,  having  made  some 
alterations,  agreed  that  the  said  paragraphs  as  now  altered  be 
printed  for  consideration."  As  thus  altered  and  amended,  this 
Confession  and  these  Catechisms  were  adopted  as  the  doctrinal 
part  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  America 
in  1788,  and  so  stand  to  this  day. 

The  original  Articles  of  the  Westminster  Confession  as  to  thr 
civil  magistrate  which  are  altered  in  our  Confession  are  as  follow: 

Westm.  Conf. ,  chap.  20,  \  4,  of  certain  offenders  it  is  said : 
"They  may  be  proceeded  against  by  the  censures  of  the  Church 
and  by  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate."  Chap.  23,  \  3:  "The 
civil  magistrate  may  not  assume  to  himself  the  administration  of 
the  Word  and  sacraments,  or  the  power  of  the  keys  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven ;  yet  he  hath  authority,  and  it  is  his  duty,  to  take 
order  that  unity  and  peace  be  preserved  in  the  Church;  that  the 
truth  of  God  be  kept  pure  and  entire  ;  that  all  blasphemies  and 
heresies  be  suppressed,  all  corruptions  and  abuses  in  worship  and 
discipline  prevented  or  reformed,  and  all  ordinances  of  God  duly 
settled,  administered  and  observed.  For  the  better  effecting 
whereof,  he  hath  power  to  call  synods,  to  be  present  at  them,  and 
to  provide  that  whatsoever  is  transacted  in  them  be  according  to 
the  mind  of  God."  Chap.  31,  $  2:  "As  magistrates  may  law- 
fully call  a  synod  of  ministers  and  other  fit  persons  to  consult  and 
advise  with  about  matters  of  religion,  so,  if  magistrates  be  open 
enemies  to  the  Church,  the  ministers  of  Christ  of  themselves,  Kv 
virtue  of  their  office,  or  they  with  other  fit  persons  upon  delega- 
tion from  their  churches,  may  meet  together  in  such  assemblies." 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  How  were  most  of  the  Confessions  of  the  Lutheran  ana 
Reformed  churches  composed? 

2.  What  is  peculiar  in  the  case  of  the  Canons  of  the  Synod  or 
Dort  and  the  Confession  and  Catechisms  of  Westminster? 


42  INTRODUCTION. 

3.  State  the  general  character  of  the  Reformation  in  Sf  ^tland. 

4.  What  were  the  character  and  design  of  the  Solem  if  .League 
and  Covenant,  and  by  what  parties  was  it  contracted? 

5.  What  was  the  general  character  of  the  Reformation  in 
England  ? 

6.  What  was  the  principal  instrumentality  by  which  the  work 
was  effected  ? 

7.  What  was  the  character  of  the  theology,  and  what  the  direc- 
tion of  the  sympathies,  of  the  early  English  Reformers? 

8.  What  was  the  character  of  the  influence  exerted  upon  the 
English  Reformation  by  her  first  Protestant  sovereigns? 

9.  What  proved  to  be  the  civil  effects  of  the  attempt  upon  the 
part  of  the  Crown  to  repress  religious  liberty  ? 

10.  State  some  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Long  Parliament. 

11.  When  and  for  what  purpose  was  the  Assembly  of  Divines 
called  at  Westminster? 

12.  What  was  the  number  and  what  was  the  character  of  the 
persons  composing  that  Assembly? 

1 3.  Who  were  the  representatives  of  the  Scotch  Church  ? 

14.  Into  what  three  principal  parties  were  the  members  of  this 
Assembly  divided?  and  to  which  party  did  the  vast  majority  of 
the  Assembly  belong? 

15.  How  was  the  Assembly  organized? 

1G.  What  was  the  first  work  performed  by  the  Assembly? 
17.  When  and  how  did  they  proceed  to  frame  a  Confession  ol 
Faith? 

IS.  How  did  they  proceed  to  frame  the  Catechisms? 

19.  What  was  the  action  of  the  Long  Parliament  touching  the 
^ork  of  the  Assembly? 

20.  What  the  action  of  the  Scotch  General  Assembly  as  to 
the  same? 

21.  What  was  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  Presbyterian  establish 
ment  in  England? 

22.  Of  what  churches  is  the  Westminster  Confession  the  Con- 
stitutional Standard  of  Doctrine? 

23.  When  and  with  what  exceptions  was  this  Confession 
adopted  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  America? 

24.  When  and  why  and  in  what  sections  was  it  amended? 


Confession  of  Faith 


CHAPTER   I 


OF   THE    HOLY   SCRIPTURE. 


Section  I. — Although  the  light  of  nature,  and  the  works  of 
creation  and  providence,  do  so  far  manifest  the  goodness,  wisdom, 
and  power  of  God,  as  to  leave  men  inexcusable  ;:  yet  they  are  not 
sufficient  to  give  that  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  his  will,  which 
is  necessary  unto  salvation  ;2  therefore  it  pleased  the  Lord,  at 
sundry  times,  and  in  divers  manners,  to  reveal  himself,  and  to 
declare  that  his  will  unto  his  Church  ;3  and  afterward,  for  the 
better  preserving  and  propagating  of  the  truth,  and  for  the  more 
sure  establishment  and  comfort  of  the  Church  against  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  flesh,  and  the  malice  of  Satan  and  of  the  world,  to 
commit  the  same  wholly  unto  writing  ;4  which  maketh  the  Holy 
Scripture  to  be  most  necessary  ;5  those  former  ways  of  God's  re- 
vealing his  will  unto  his  people  being  now  ceased.6 

1  Rom.  ii.  14,  15:  i.  19,  20;  Ps.  xix.  1-3;  Rom.  i.  32;  ii.  1.— 2  1  Cor.  i. 
21;  ii.  13,  14.— 3  Hebrews  i.  1.— *  Prov.  xxii.  19-21;  Luke  i.  3,  4;  Rom. 
xv.  4:  Matt.  iv.  4,  7,  10;  Isa.  viii.  19,  20.— 5  2  Tim.  iii.  15;  2  Pet.  i.  19. 
— «  Hebrews  i.  1,  2. 

This  section  affirms  the  foil-owing  propositions : 
1st.  That  the  light  of  nature,  and  the  works  of  crea- 
tion and  providence  are  sufficient  to  makt  known  the 
fact  tl/at  there  is  a  God,  and  somewhat  of  his  nature  and 

43 


44  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

character,  so  as  to  leave  the  disobedience  of  men  without 
excuse. 

2d.  That  nevertheless  the  amount  and  kind  of  know- 
ledge thus  attainable  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  any  to 
secure  salvation. 

2d.  That  consequently  it  has  pleased  God,  of  his 
sovereign  grace,  to  make  in  various  ways  and  at  differ- 
ent times  a  supernatural  revelation  of  himself  and  of 
his  purposes  to  a  chosen  portion  of  the  human  family. 

4th.  And  that  subsequently  God  has  been  pleased  to 
commit  that  revelation  to  writing,  and  that  it  is  now 
exclusively  embraced  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 

1st.  The  light  of  nature  and  the  works  of  creation 
and  providence  are  sufficient  to  enable  men  to  ascertain 
the  fact  that  there  is  a  God  and  somewhat  of  his  nature 
and  character,  and  thus  render  them  inexcusable. 

Three  generically  distinct  false  opinions  have  been  en- 
tertained with  respect  to  the  capacity  of  men  in  their 
present  circumstances  to  attain  to  any  positive  know- 
ledge of  the  being  and  character  of  God. 

(1.)  There  is  the  assumption  of  all  those  extreme 
rationalists  who  deny  the  existence  of  any  world  beyond 
the  natural  one  discoverable  by  our  senses,  and  especially 
of  that  school  of  Positive  Philosophy  inaugurated  by 
Auguste  Comte  in  France,  and  represented  by  John 
Stuart  Mill  and  Herbert  Spencer  in  England,  who 
affirm  that  all  possible  human  knowledge  is  confined  to 
the  facts  of  our  experience  and  the  uniform  laws  which 
regulate  the  succession  of  those  facts;  that  it  is  not 
possible  for  the  human  mind  in  its  present  state  to  go 
beyond  the  simple  order  of  nature  to  the  knowledge  of 
an  absolute  first  cause,  or  to  a  designing  and  disposing 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  45 

supreme  intelligence,  even  though  such  an  one  actually 
exists ;  that  whether  there  be  a  God  or  not,  yet  as  a 
matter  of  fact  he  is  not  revealed,  and  as  a  matter  of 
principle  could  not,  even  if  revealed,  be  recognized  by 
man  in  the  present  state  of  his  faculties. 

This  assumption  is  disproved:  (a.)  By  the  fact  that 
men  of  all  nations,  ages  and  degrees  of  culture  have 
discerned  the  evidences  of  the  presence  of  a  God  in  the 
works  of  nature  and  providence,  and  in  the  inward 
workings  of  their  own  souls.  This  has  been  true,  not 
only  of  individuals,  communities  or  generations  unen- 
lightened by  science,  but  pre-eminently  of  some  of  the 
very  first  teachers  of  positive  science  in  the  modern 
scientific  age,  such  as  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Sir  David 
Brewster,  Dr.  Faraday,  etc.  (6.)  By  the  fact  that  the 
works  of  nature  and  providence  are  full  of  the  manifest 
(races  of  design,  and  that  they  can  be  scientifically  ex- 
plained, and  as  a  matter  of  fact  are  explained  by  these 
very  skeptics  themselves,  only  by  the  recognition  and 
accurate  tracing  out  of  the  evident  "  intention"  which 
each  of  these  works  is  adapted  to  subserve  in  their 
mutual  relations,  (c.)  The  same  is  disproved  from  the 
fact  that  conscience,  which  is  a  universal  and  indestruct- 
ible element  of  human  nature,  necessarily  implies  our 
accountability  to  a  personal  moral  governor,  and  as  a 
matter  of  fact  has  uniformly  led  men  to  a  recognition 
of  his  existence  and  of  their  relation  to  him. 

(2.)  An  extreme  opinion  on  this  subject  has  been  held 
by  some  Christians,  to  the  effect  that  no  true  and  certain 
knowledge  of  God  can  be  derived  by  man,  in  his  present 
condition,  from  the  light  of  nature  in  the  entire  absence 
of  a  supernatural  revelation  ;  that  we  are  altogether  de- 


1G  CONFESSION    CF    FAITH. 

pendent  upon  such  a  revelation  for  any  certain  know- 
ledge that  God  exists,  as  well  as  for  all  knowledge  of 
his  nature  and  his  purposes. 

This  opinion  is  disproved  :  (a.)  By  the  direct  testis 
mony  of  Scripture.  Rom.  i.  20-24;  ii.  14,  15.  (b.)  By 
the  fact  that  many  conclusive  arguments  for  the  exist- 
ence of  a  great  first  Cause,  who  is  at  the  same  time  an 
intelligent  personal  Spirit  and  righteous  moral  Governor, 
have  been  drawn  by  a  strict  induction  from  the  facts  of 
nature  alone,  as  they  lie  open  to  the  natural  understand- 
ing. The  fact  that  this  argument  remains  unanswerable 
shows  that  the  process  by  which  the  conclusions  are 
drawn  from  purely  natural  sources  is  legitimate,  (c.)  All 
nations,  however  deeilrute  of  a  supernatural  revelation 
they  may  have  been,  have  yet  possessed  some  knowledge 
of  a  God.  And  in  the  case  of  the  most  enlightened  of 
the  heathen,  natural  religion  has  given  birth  to  a  con- 
siderable natural  theology.  We  must,  however,  distin- 
guish between  that  knowledge  of  the  divine  character 
which  may  be  obtained  by  men  from  the  works  of 
nature  and  providence  in  the  exercise  of  their  natural 
powers  alone,  without  any  suggestions  or  assistance 
derived  from  a  supernatural  revelation — as  is  illustrated 
in  the  theological  writings  of  some  most  eminent  of  the 
heathen  who  lived  before  Christ — and  that  knowledge 
which  men  in  this  age,  under  the  clear  light  of  a  super- 
natural revelation,  are  competent  to  deduce  from  a  study 
of  nature.  The  natural  theology  of  the  modern  ration- 
alists demonstrably  owes  all  its  special  excellences  to 
that  Christian  revelation  it  is  intended  to  supersede. 

(3.)  The  third  erroneous  opinion  which  has  been  en- 
tertained on  this  subject  is  that  of  deists  and  theistic 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  47 

rationalists,  viz. :  that  the  light  of  nature,  when  legiti- 
mately used,  imperfectly  sufficient  of  itself  to  lead  men 
to  all  necessary  knowledge  of  God's  being,  nature  and 
purposes.  Some  German  rationalists,  while  admitting 
that  a  supernatural  revelation  has  been  given  in  the 
Christian  Scriptures,  yet  insist  that  its  only  office  is  to 
illustrate  and  enforce  the  truths  already  given  through 
the  light  of  nature,  which  are  sufficient  in  themselves, 
and  need  re-enforcement  only  because  they  are  ordinarily 
not  properly  attended  to  by  men.  But,  in  opposition  to 
this,  the  Confession  teaches — 

2d.  That  the  amount  of  knowledge  attainable  by  the 
light  of  nature  is  not  sufficient  to  enable  any  to  secure 
salvation. 

This  is  proved  to  be  true :  (a.)  From  Scripture. 
1  Cor.  i.  21  ;  ii.  13,  14.  (b.)  From  the  fact  that  man's 
moral  relations  to  God  have  been  disturbed  by  sin ; 
and  while  the  natural  light  of  reason  may  teach  an 
anfallen  being  spontaneously  how  he  should  approach 
and  serve  God,  and  while  it  may  teach  a  fallen  being 
what  the  nature  of  God  may  demand  as  to  the  punish- 
ment of  sin,  it  can  teach  nothing  by  way  of  anticipation 
as  to  what  God  may  be  sovereignly  disposed  to  do  in 
the  way  of  remission,  substitution,  sanctification,  resto- 
ration, etc.  (c.)  From  the  facts  presented  in  the  past 
history  of  all  nations  destitute  of  the  light  of  revelation, 
both  before  and  since  Christ.  The  truths  they  have 
held  have  been  incomplete  and  mixed  with  fundamental 
error;  their  faith  has  been  uncertain;  their  religious 
rites  have  been  degrading  and  their  lives  immoral. 
The  only  apparent  exception  to  this  fact  is  found  in  the 
case  of  some  rationalists  in  Christian  lands,  and  their 


18  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

exceptional  superiority  to  others  of  their  creed  is  due  tc 
the  secondary  influences  of  that  system  of  supernatural 
religion  which  they  deny,  but  the  power  of  which  they 
cannot  exclude. 

Hence,  the  Confession  teaches  in  this  section — 

3d.  That,  consequently,  it  has  pleased  God  of  his 
sovereign  grace  to  make,  in  various  ways  and  at  differ- 
ent times,  a  supernatural  revelation  of  himself  and  of 
his  purposes  to  a  chosen  portion  of  the  human  family. 
And  that — 

4th.  God  has  been  pleased  subsequently  to  commit 
that  revelation  to  writing,  and  it  is  now  exclusively 
embraced  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures, 

Since,  as  above  shown,  the  light  of  nature  is  insuffi- 
cient to  enable  men  to  attain  such  a  knowledge  of  God 
and  his  will  as  is  necessary  for  salvation,  it  follows  (a) 
that  a  supernatural  revelation  is  absolutely  necessary  for 
man;  and  (b)  from  what  natural  religion  alone  teaches 
us  of  the  character  of  God,  it  follows  that  the  giving  of 
suon  a  revelation  is  in  the  highest  degree  antecedently 
probable  on  his  part.  Man  is  essentially  a  moral  agent 
and  needs  a  clearly  revealed  rule  of  duty,  and  a  religious 
being  craving  communion  with  God.  In  his  natural 
state  these  are  both  unsatisfied.  But  God  is  the  author 
of  human  nature.  His  intelligence  leads  us  to  believe 
that  he  will  complete  all  his  works  and  crown  a  relig- 
ious nature  with  the  gift  of  a  religion  practically 
adequate  to  its  wants.  The  benevolence  of  God  leads 
us  to  anticipate  that  he  will  not  leave  his  creatures  in 
bewilderment  and  ruin  for  the  want  of  light  as  to  their 
condition  and  duties.  And  his  righteousness  occasions 
the  presumption  that  he  will   at   some  time  speak   in 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  49 

definite  and  authoritative  tones  to  the  conscience  of  his 
subjects. 

(c.)  As  a  matter  of  fact,  God. lias  given  such  a  revela- 
tion. Indeed  he  has  in  no  period  of  human  history  left 
himself  without  a  witness.  His  communications  to 
mankind  through  the  first  three  thousand  years  were 
made  in  very  "  diverse  manners,"  by  theophanies  and 
audible  voices,  dreams,  visions,  the  Urim  and  Thummim, 
and  prophetic  inspiration  ;  and  the  results  of  these  com- 
munications were  diffused  and  perpetuated  by  means  of 
tradition. 

The  fact  that  such  a  revelation  has  been  made,  and 
that  we  have  it  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  is  fully  sub- 
stantiated by  that  mass  of  proof  styled  the  "  evidences 
of  Christianity."  The  main  departments  of  this  evi- 
dence are  the  following : 

(a.)  The  Old  and  New  Testaments,  whether  the  word 
of  God  or  not,  bear  all  the  marks  of  genuine  and  authen- 
tic historical  records. 

(6.)  The  miracles  recorded  in  these  Scriptures  are 
established  as  facts  by  abundant  testimony,  and  when 
admitted  as  facts  they  demonstrate  the  religion  they 
accompany  to  be  from  God. 

(c.)  The  same  is  true  in  all  respects  with  regard  to 
the  many  explicit  prophecies  already  fulfilled  which  are 
contained  in  the  Scriptures. 

(d.)  The  unparalleled  perfection  of  the  moral  sys- 
tem they  teach,  and  the  supernatural  intelligence  they 
discover  in  adaptation  to  all  human  characters  and  con- 
ditions in  all  ages. 

(e.)  The  absolutely  perfect  excellence  of  its  Founder. 

(/.)  The  spiritual   power  of  Christianity,  as  shown 


50 


CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 


in  the  religious  experience  of  individuals,  and  also  it 
the  wider  influence  it  exerts  over  communities  and  na- 
tions in  successive  generations. 

For  the  questions  concerning  the  Holy  Scriptures  as 
containing  the  whole  of  this  revelation  now  made  by 
God  to  men,  see  below. 

Section  II. — Under  the  name  of  Holy  Scripture,  or  the  word 
of  God  written,  are  now  contained  all  the  books  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  which  are  these : 

OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 


Genesis. 

I.  Kings. 

Ecclesiastes. 

Amos. 

Exodus. 

II.  Kings. 

The    Song    of   Solo- 

Obadiah. 

Leviticus. 

I.  Chronicles. 

mon. 

Jonah. 

Numbers. 

II.  Chronicles. 

Isaiah. 

Micah. 

Deuteronomy. 

Ezra. 

Jeremiah. 

Natmm. 

Joshua. 

Nehemiah. 

Lamentations. 

Habakknk. 

Judges. 

Esther. 

Ezekiel. 

Zephaniah. 

Ruth. 

Job. 

Daniel. 

Haggai. 

I.  Samuel. 

Psalms. 

llosea. 

Zechariah. 

II.  Samuel. 

Proverbs. 

Joel. 

Malachi. 

OF  THE  NEW  '1 

'ESTAMENT. 

Matthew. 

I.  Corinthians. 

I.  Timothy. 

I.  Peter. 

Mark. 

II.  Corinthians. 

II.  Timothy. 

II.  Peter. 

Luke. 

Galatians. 

Titus. 

I.  John. 

John. 

Ephesiana. 

Philemon. 

II.  John. 

Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

Philippiana. 

Epistle    to   the  He- 

III. John. 

Epistle    to    the   Ro- 

Colossians. 

brews. 

Jude. 

mans. 

I.  Thessalonians. 

II.  Thessalonians. 

Epistle  of  James. 

The  Revelation. 

All  which  are  given  by  inspiration  of  God  to  be  the  rule  of  faith 
and  life.7 

Section  III. — The  books  commonly  called  Apocrypha,  not 
being  of  divine  inspiration,  are  no  part  of  the  canon  of  the  Scrip- 
ture, and  therefore  are  of  no  authority  in  the  Church  of  God, 
nor  to  be  any  otherwise  approved  or  made  use  of  than  other  hu- 
man writings.8 

»  Luke  xlv.  29,  31;  Eph.  ii.  20;  Eev.  xxii.  18,  19;  2  Tim.  Hi.  16.— 8  Luke 
xxiv.  27,  44;  Rom.  iii.  2 ;  2  Pet.  i.  21. 


These  sections  affirm  the  following  propositions : 
1st.  That  the  complete  canon  of  Scripture  embraces 


HOLY   SCKIPTT7KE.  51 

in  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Tes- 
taments all  the  particular  books  here  named. 

2d.  That  the  books  commonly  called  Apocrypha  form 
no  part  of  that  canon,  and  are  to  be  regarded  as  of  no 
more  authority  than  any  other  human  writings. 

3d.  That  all  the  canonical  books  were  divinely  in- 
spired, and  are  thus  given  to  us  as  an  authoritative  rule 
of  faith  and  practice. 

1st.  The  complete  canon  of  Scripture  embraces  in  the 
two  great  divisions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  all 
the  particular  books  here  named. 

The  Old  Testament  is  the  collection  of  inspired  writ- 
ings given  by  God  to  his  Church  during  the  Old  Dis- 
pensation of  the  Covenant  of  Grace,  and  the  New  Tes- 
tament is  the  collection  of  those  inspired  writings  which 
he  gave  during  the  New  or  Christian  Dispensation  of 
that  Covenant. 

We  determine  what  books  have  a  place  in  this  canon 
or  divine  rule  by  an  examination  of  the  evidences  which 
show  that  each  of  them,  severally,  was  written  by  the 
inspired  prophet  or  apostle  whose  name  it  bears,  or,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  gospels  of  Mark  and  Luke,  written 
under  the  superintendence  and  published  by  the  author- 
ity of  an  apostle.  This  evidence  in  the  case  of  the  Sar 
cred  Scriptures  is  of  the  same  kind  of  historical  and 
critical  proof  as  is  relied  upon  by  all  literary  men  to 
establish  the  genuineness  and  authenticity  of  any  other 
ancient  writings,  such  as  the  Odes  of  Horace  or  the 
works  of  Herodotus.  In  general  this  evidence  is  (a) 
Internal,  such  as  language,  style  and  the  character  of 
the  matter  they  contain;  (6)  External,  such  as  the  testi- 
mony of  contemporaneous  writers,  the  universal  consent 


52  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

of  contemporary  readers,  and  corroborating  history  drawn 
from  independent  credible  sources. 

The  genuineness  of  the  books  constituting  the  Old 
Testament  canon  as  now  received  by  all  Protestants  is 
established  as  follows : 

(1.)  Christ  and  his  apostles  endorse  as  genuine  and 
authentic  the  canon  of  Jewish  Scriptures  as  it  existed  in 
their  time,  (a.)  Christ  often  quotes  as  the  word  of  God 
the  separate  books  and  the  several  divisions  embraced 
in  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  viz. :  the  Law,  the  Prophets, 
and  the  Holy  Writings  or  Psalms.  Mark  xiv.  49 ;  Luke 
xxiv.  44;  John  v.  39.  (6.)  The  apostles  also  quote  them 
as  the  word  of  God;  2  Tim.  iii.  15,  16;  Acts  i.  16.  (c.) 
Christ  often  rebuked  the  Jews  for  disobeying,  but  never 
for  forging  or  corrupting  their  Scriptures,  Matt.  xxii.  29. 

(2.)  The  Jewish  canon  thus  endorsed  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles  is  the  same  as  that  we  now  have,  (a.)  The 
New  Testament  writers  quote  as  Scripture  almost  every 
one  of  the  books  we  recognize,  and  no  others,  (b.)  The 
Septuagint,  or  Greek  translation  of  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures, made  in  Egypt  B.  C.  285,  which  was  itself  fre- 
quently quoted  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  embraced 
every  book  contained  in  our  copies,  (c.)  Josephus,  born 
A.  D.  37,  enumerates  as  Hebrew  Scriptures  the  same 
books  by  their  classes,  (d.)  The  testimony  of  the  early 
Christian  writers  uniformly  agrees  with  that  of  the  an- 
cient Jews  as  to  every  book,  (e.)  Ever  since  the  time 
of  Christ,  both  Jews  and  Christians,  while  rival  and 
hostile  parties,  have  separately  kept  the  same  canon, 
and  agree  perfectly  as  to  the  genuineness  and  authen- 
ticity of  every  book. 

The  evidence  which  establishes  the  canonical  author- 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  53 

ity  of  several  books  of  the  New  Testament  may  be  gene- 
rally stated  as  follows:  (a.)  The  early  Christian  writers 
in  all  parts  of  the  world  agree  in  quoting  as  of  apostoli- 
cal authority  the  books  we  receive,  while  they  quote  all 
other  contemporaneous  writings  only  for  illustration. 
1 6.)  The  early  Church  Fathers  furnish  a  number  of 
catalogues  of  the  books  received  by  them  as  apostolical, 
all  of  which  agree  perfectly  as  to  most  of  the  books,  and 
differ  only  in  a  slight  degree  with  reference  to  some  last 
written  or  least  generally  circulated,  (c.)  The  earliest 
translations  of  the  Scriptures  prove  that,  at  the  time 
they  were  made,  the  books  they  contain  were  recognized 
as  Scripture.  The  Peshito,  or  early  Syriac  translation, 
agrees  almost  entirely  with  ours,  and  the  Vulgate,  pre- 
pared by  Jerome  A.  D.  385,  was  based  on  the  Italic  or 
early  Latin  version,  and  agrees  entirely  with  ours. 
(d.)  The  internal  evidence  corroborates  the  external 
testimony  in  the  case  of  all  the  books.  This  consists 
of  the  language  and  idiom  in  which  they  are  written  ; 
the  harmony  in  all  essentials  in  the  midst  of  great  vari- 
ety in  form  and  circumstantials;  the  elevated  spirituality 
and  doctrinal  consistency  of  all  the  books,  and  their 
practical  power  over  the  consciences  and  hearts  of  men. 

2d.  But  the  books  called  Apocrypha  form  no  part  of 
the  sacred  Canon,  and  are  to  be  regarded  as  of  no  more 
authority  than  any  other  human  writings. 

The  word  apocrypha  (anything  hidden)  has  teen 
applied  to  certain  ancient  writings  whose  authorship  is 
not  manifest,  and  for  which  unfounded  claims  have  been 
set  up  for  a  place  in  the  canon.  Some  of  these  have 
been  associated  with  the  Old  and  some  with  the  New 
Testament.     In  this  section  of  the  Confession,  however, 


54  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

the  name  is  applied  principally  to  those  spurious  Scrip, 
tures  for  which  a  place  is  claimed  in  the  Old  Testament 
canon  by  the  Roman  Church.  These  are  Tobit,  Wisdom, 
Judith,  Ecelesiastieus,  Baruch  and  the  two  hooks  of 
Maccabees.  They  also  prefix  to  the  book  of  Daniel  the 
History  of  Susannah,  and  insert  in  the  third  chapter  the 
Song  of  the  Three  Children,  and  add  to  the  end  of  the 
book  the  History  of  Bel  and  the  Dragon. 

That  these  books  have  no  right  to  a  place  in  the 
canon  is  proved  by  the  following  facts:  (a.)  They 
never  formed  a  part  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  They 
have  always  been  rejected  by  the  Jews,  to  whose  guar- 
dianship the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  were  committed. 
(6.)  None  of  them  were  ever  quoted  by  Christ  or  the 
apostles,  (c.)  They  were  never  embraced  in  the  list  of 
the  canonical  books  by  the  early  Fathers ;  and  even  in 
the  Roman  Church  their  authority  was  not  accepted  by 
the  most  learned  and  candid  men  until  after  it  was 
made  an  article  of  faith  by  the  Council  of  Trent,  late  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  (d.)  The  internal  evidence  pre- 
sented by  their  contents  disproves  their  claims.  None 
of  them  make  any  claim  to  inspiration,  while  the  best 
of  them  disclaim  it.  Some  of  theru  consist  in  childish 
fables,  and  inculcate  bad  morals. 

And  this  section  teaches — 

3d.  That  all  the  canonical  Scriptures  were  divinely 
inspired,  and  are  thus  given  us  as  an  authoritative  rvh 
of  faith  and  practice. 

The  books  of  Scripture  were  written  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  men,  and  the  national  and  personal  pecu- 
liarities of  their  authors  have  been  evidently  a?  freely 
expressed  in  their  writing,  and  their  natural  faculties 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  55 

intellectual  and  moral,  as  freely  exercised  in  their  pro- 
duction, as  those  of  the  authors  of  any  other  writings. 
Nevertheless,  these  books  are,  one  and  all,  in  thought 
and  verbal  expression,  in  substance  and  form,  wholly 
the  Word  of  God,  conveying,  with  absolute  accuracy 
and  divine  authority,  all  that  God  meant  them  to 
convey,  without  any  human  additions  or  admixtures. 
This  was  accomplished  by  a  supernatural  influence  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  acting  upon  the  spirits  of  the  sacred 
writers,  called  "  inspiration, "  which  accompanied  them 
uniformly  in  what  they  wrote,  and  which,  without  vio- 
lating the  free  operation  of  their  faculties,  yet  directed 
them  in  all  they  wrote  and  secured  the  infallible  expres- 
sion of  it  in  words.  The  nature  of  this  divine  influence 
we,  of  course,  can  no  more  understand  than  we  can  in 
the  case  of  any  other  miracle.  But  the  effects  are  plain 
and  certain,  viz. :  that  all  written  under  it  is  the  very 
Word  of  God,  of  infallible  truth  and  of  divine  author- 
ity ;  and  this  infallibility  and  authority  attach  as  well 
to  the  verbal  expression  in  which  the  revelation  is  con- 
veyed as  to  the  matter  of  the  revelation  itself. 

The  fact  that  the  Scriptures  are  thus  inspired  is 
proved,  because  they  assert  it  of  themselves;  and  be- 
cause they  must  either  be  credited  as  true  in  this  respect, 
or  rejected  as  false  in  all  respects ;  and  because  God 
authenticated  the  claims  of  their  writers  by  accompany- 
ing their  teaching  with  "signs  and  wonders  and  diver* 
miracles."  Heb.  ii.  4.  Wherever  God  sends  his  "sign," 
there  he  commands  belief,  but  it  is  impossible  that  he 
could  unconditionally  command  belief  except  to  truth 
infallibly  conveyed. 

(a.)  The  Old   Testament   writers   claimed    to    be   in- 


56  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

spired.  Deut.  xxxi.  19-22,  xxxiv.  10;  Num.  xvi.  28, 
29;  2  Sam.  xxiii.  2.  As  a  characteristic  fact,  they  speak 
in  the  name  of  God,  prefacing  their  messages  with  a 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  "  The  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it."  Deut.  xviii.  21,  22;  1  Kings  xxi.  20;  Jer. 
ix.  12,  etc. 

(6.)  The  New  Testament  writers  introduce  their  quo- 
tations from  the  Old  Testament  with  such  formulas  as 
"  The  Holy  Ghost  saith,"  Heb.  iii.  7  ;  "  The  Holy  Ghost 
this  signifying,"  Heb.  ix.  8  ;  "  Saith  God,"  Acts  ii.  17  ; 
1  Cor.  ix.  9,  10 ;  "  The  Lord  by  the  mouth  of  his  ser- 
vant David  saith,"  Acts  iv.  25;  "The  Lord  limiteth  in 
David  a  certain  time,  saying,"  Heb.  iv.  7. 

(c.)  The  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament  is  expressly 
affirmed  in  the  New  Testament.  Luke  i.  70 ;  Heb.  i. 
1  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  16;  1  Pet.  i.  10-12;  2  Pet.  i.  21. 

(cZ.)  Christ  and  his  apostles  constantly  quote  the  Old 
Testament  as  infallible,  as  that  which  must  be  fulfilled. 
Matt.  v.  18;  John  vii.  23;  Luke  xxiv.  44;  Matt.  ii. 
15-23,  etc. 

(e.)  Inspiration  was  promised  the  apostles.  Matt.  x. 
19;  xxviii.  19,  20;  Luke  xii.  12;  John  xiii.  20;  xiv. 
26;  xv.  26.  27;  xvi.  13. 

(/.)  They  claimed  to  have  the  Spirit  in  fulfilment  of 
the  promise  of  Christ.  Acts  ii.  33  ;  xv.  28 ;  1  Thess. 
i.  5.  To  speak  as  the  prophets  of  God.  1  Cor.  iv.  1  ; 
1  Thess.  iv.  8.  To  speak  with  plenary  authority.  1 
Cor.  ii.  13;  2  Cor.  xiii.  2-4;  Gal.  i.  8,  9.  They  put 
their  writings  on  a  level  with  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures.   2  Pec.  iii.  16  ;  1  Thess.  v.  27. 

Section  IV.— The  authority  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  for  which 
it  ought  to  be  believed  and  obeyed,  dependeth  not  upon  the  testi- 


HOLY    SCRIPTURE.  57 

mony  of  any  man  or  Church,  but  wholly  upon  God  (who  is  truth 
itself),  the  author  thereof;  and,  therefore,  is  to  be  received, 
because  it  is  the  word  of  God.9 

Section  V. — We  may  be  moved  and  induced  by  the  testimony 
of  the  Church  to  an  high  and  reverend  esteem  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture,10 and  the  heavenliness  of  the  matter,  the  efficacy  of  the 
doctrine,  the  majesty  of  the  style,  the  consent  of  all  the  parts, 
the  scope  of  the  whole  (which  is  to  give  all  glory  to  God),  the 
full  discovery  it  makes  of  the  only  way  of  man's  salvation,  the 
many  other  incomparable  excellences,  and  the  entire  perfection 
thereof,  are  arguments  whereby  it  doth  abundantly  evidence 
itself  to  be  the  word  of  God ;  yet  notwithstanding  our  full  per- 
suasion and  assurance  of  the  infallible  truth  and  divine  authority 
thereof,  is  from  the  inward  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  bearing  wit- 
ness by  and  with  the  word  in  our  hearts.11 

9  2  Pet.  i.  19-21;  2  Tim.  iii.  16;  1  John  v.  9 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  13.— w  1  Tim. 
iii.  15.-11  1  John  ii.  20-27;  John  xvi.  13,  14;  1  Cor.  ii.  10-12;  Isa.  lix.  21. 

This  section  teaches  the  following  propositions: 
1st.  That  the  authority  of  the  inspired  Scriptures  does 
not  rest  upon  the  testimony  of  the  Church,  but  directly 
upon  God. 

This  proposition  is  designed  to  deny  the  Romish 
heresy  that  the  inspired  Church  is  the  ultimate  source 
of  all  divine  knowledge,  and  that  the  written  Scripture 
and  ecclesiastical  tradition  alike  depend  upon  the  authori- 
tative seal  of  the  Church  for  their  credibility.  They 
thus  make  the  Scriptures  a  product  of  the  Spirit  through 
the  Church,  while  in  fact  the  Church  is  a  product  of  the 
Spirit  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  word.  It  is 
true  that  the  testimony  of  the  early  Church  to  the 
apostolic  authorship  of  the  several  books  is  of  funda- 
mental importance,  just  as  a  subject  may  boar  wil 
to  the  identity  of  an  heir  to  the  crown,  but  the  au- 
thority of  the  Scriptures  is   no    more   derived    from   the 


58  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

Church,  than  that  of  the  king   from  the  subject  who 
proves  the  fact  that  he  is  the  legal  heir. 

2d.  That  the  internal  evidences  of  a  divine  origin 
contained  in  and  inseparable  from  the  Scriptures  them- 
selves are  conclusive. 

This  is  a  part  of  the  evidences  of  Christianity  con- 
sidered under  Section  1st.  The  internal  marks  of  a 
divine  origin  in  the  Bible  are  such  as —  (a.)  The  phe- 
nomena it  presents  of  a  supernatural  intelligence ;  in 
unity  of  design  developed  through  its  entire  structure, 
although  it  is  composed  of  sixty-six  separate  books,  by 
forty  different  authors,  writing  at  intervals  through  six- 
teen centuries  ;  in  its  perfect  freedom  from  all  the  errors 
incident  to  the  ages  of  its  production  with  regard  to 
facts  or  opinions  of  whatever  kind ;  in  the  marvellous 
knowledge  it  exhibits  of  human  nature  under  all  pos- 
sible relations  and  conditions;  in  the  original  and  lumi- 
nous solution  it  affords  of  many  of  the  darkest  problems 
of  human  history  and  destiny.  (6.)  The  unparalleled 
perfection  of  its  moral  system ;  in  the  exalted  view  it 
gives  of  God,  his  law  and  moral  government ;  in  its  ex- 
alted yet  practical  and  beneficent  system  of  morality,  set 
forth  and  effectively  enforced;  in  its  wondrous  power 
over  the  human  conscience;  and  in  the  unrivalled  extent 
and  persistence  of  its  influence  over  communities  of  men. 

3d.  Yet  that  the  highest  and  most  influential  faith 
in  the  truth  and  authority  of  the  Scriptures  is  the  direct 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  our  hearts. 

The  Scriptures  to  the  unregenerate  man  are  like  light 
to  the  blind.     They  may  be  felt  as  the  rays  of  the  sun 
are  felt   by  the  blind,  but   they  cannot   be   fully  seen 
The  Holy  Spirit  opens  the  blinded  eyes  and  gives  due 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  59 

sensibility  to  the  diseased  heart,  and  thus  assurance 
comes  with  the  evidence  of  spiritual  experience.  When 
first  regenerated,  he  begins  to  set  the  Scriptures  to  the 
test  of  experience,  and  the  more  he  advances  the  more 
he  proves  them  true,  and  the  more  he  discovers  of  their 
limitless  breadth  and  fulness,  and  their  evidently  de- 
signed adaptation  to  all  human  wants  under  all  possible 
conditions. 

Section  VI. — The  whole  counsel  of  God,  concerning  all  things 
necessary  for  his  own  glory,  man's  salvation,  faith  and  life,  is 
either  expressly  set  down  in  Scripture,  or  by  good  and  necessary 
consequence  may  be  deduced  from  Scripture :  unto  which  noth- 
ing at  any  time  is  to  be  added,  whether  by  new  revelations  of  the 
Spirit  or  traditions  of  men.12  Nevertheless,  we  acknowledge  the 
inward  illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  be  necessary  for  the 
saving  understanding  of  such  things  as  are  revealed  in  the  word  ;13 
and  that  there  are  some  circumstances  concerning  the  worship  of 
God  and  government  of  the  Church,  common  to  human  actions 
and  societies,  which  are  to  be  ordered  by  the  light  of  nature  and 
Christian  prudence,  according  to  the  general  rules  of  the  word, 
which  are  always  to  be  observed.14 

12  2  Tim.  iii.  15-17;  Gal.  i.  8,9j  2  Thess.  ii.  2.— 13  John  vi.  45;  1  Cor. 
ii.  9-12.— 14  1  Cor.  xi.  13,  14 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  26,  40. 

This  section  teaches  the  following  propositions : 
1st.  The  inspired  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  are  a  complete  rule  of  faith  and  practice;  they 
embrace  the  whole  of  whatever  supernatural  revelation 
God  now  makes  to  men,  and  are  abundantly  sufficient 
for  all  the  practical  necessities  of  men  or  communities. 

This  is  proved  (a)  from  the  design  of  Scripture. 
It  professes  to  lead  us  to  God.  Whatever  is  necessary 
to  that  end  it  must  teach  us.  If  any  supplementary 
knowledge  is  necessary,  it  must    refer  to  it.      Incom- 


60  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

pleteness  in  such  an  undertaking  would  be  falsehood. 
But  (b)  while  Christ  and  his  apostles  constantly  refer 
to  Scripture  as  an  authoritative  rule,  neither  they  nor 
the  Scriptures  themselves  ever  refer  to  any  other  source 
of  divine  revelation  whatsoever.  They  therefore  assume 
all  the  awful  prerogatives  of  completeness.  John  xx.  31 ; 
2  Tim.  iii.  15-17.  And  (c),  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Scriptures  do  teach  a  perfect  system  of  doctrine,  and  all 
the  principles  which  are  necessary  for  the  practical  regu- 
lation of  the  lives  of  individuals,  communities  and 
churches.  The  more  diligent  men  have  been  in  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  and  the  more  assiduous  they  have 
been  in  carrying  out  its  instructions  into  practice,  the 
less  has  it  been  possible  for  them  to  believe  that  it  is 
incomplete  in  any  element  of  a  perfect  rule  of  all  that 
which  man  is  to  believe  concerning  God,  and  of  all  that 
duty  which  God  requires  of  man. 

2d.  Nothing  during  the  present  dispensation  is  to  be 
added  to  this  complete  rule  of  faith,  either  by  new  reve- 
lations of  the  Spirit  or  traditions  of  men. 

No  new  revelations  of  the  Spirit  are  to  be  expected 
now,  because  (a)  he  has  already  given  us  a  complete  and 
all-sufficient  rule;  (6)  because,  while  the  Old  Testament 
foretells  the  new  dispensation,  the  New  Testament  does 
not  refer  to  any  further  revelation  to  be  expected  before 
the  second  advent  of  Christ.  They  always  refer  to  the 
"coming"  or  "appearance"  of  Christ  as  the  very  next 
supernatural  event  to  be  anticipated,  (c.)  As  a  matter  vy 
of  fact,  no  pretended  revelations  of  the  Spirit  since  the  ' 
days  of  the  apostles  have  borne  the  marks  or  been 
accompanied  with  the  "signs"  of  a  supernatural  revela- 
tion.    On  the  contrary,  all  that  have  been  made  public — 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  61 

Ifts  those  of  Swedenborg  and  the  Mormons — are  incon- 
vsistent  with  Scripture  truth,  directly  oppose  the  author- 
ity of  Scripture  and  teach  bad  morals;  while  private 
revelations  have  been  professed  only  by  vain  enthusiasts, 
and  are  incapable  of  verification. 

Traditions  of  men  cannot  be  allowed  to  supplement 
Scripture  as  a  rule  of  faith,  because  (a)  the  Scriptures, 
while  undertaking  to  lead  men  to  a  saving;  knowledge 
of  God,  never  once  ascribe  authority  to  any  such  a  sup- 
plementary rule,  (b.)  Christ  rebukes  the  practical  ob- 
servance of  it  in  the  Pharisees.  Matt.  xv.  3-6 ;  Mark 
vii.  7.  (c.)  Tradition  cannot  supplement  Scripture,  be- 
cause, while  the  latter  is  definite,  complete  and  perspicu- 
ous, the  former  is  essentially  indeterminate,  obscure  and 
fragmentary.  (d.)  The  only  system  of  ecclesiastical 
tradition  which  pretends  to  rival  the  Scriptures  as  a 
rule  of  faith  is  that  of  the  Roman  Church,  and  her 
traditions  are,  many  of  them,  demonstrably  of  modern 
origin  ;  none  can  be  traced  to  the  apostolic  age,  much 
less  to  an  apostolic  origin ;  they  are  inconsistent  with 
the  clear  teaching  of  Scripture  and  with  the  opinions  of 
many  of  the  highest  authorities  in  that  Church  itself  in 
past  ages. 

3d.  Nevertheless,  a  personal  spiritual  illumination  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  necessary  in  every  case 
for  the  practical  and  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth 
embraced  in  the  Scriptures.  This  necessity  does  not 
result  from  any  want  of  either  completeness  or  clearness 
in  the  revelation,  but  from  the  fact  that  man,  in  a  state 
of  nature,  is  carnal,  and  unable  to  discern  the  things  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  Spiritual  illumination  differs  from 
inspiration,  therefore,  (a)   in  that   it  conveys   no   new 


62  COXFESSIOK    OF    FAITH. 

truths  to  the  understanding,  but  simply  opens  the  mind 
and  heart  of  the  subject  to  the  spiritual  discernment 
and  appreciation  of  the  truth  already  objectively  pre- 
sented in  the  Scriptures,  and  (b)  in  that  it  is  an  element 
in  regeneration  common  to  all  the  children  of  God,  and 
not  peculiar  to  prophets  or  apostles;  (c)  and  hence,  in 
that  it  is  private  and  personal  in  its  use,  and  not  public. 

4th.  That,  while  the  Scriptures  are  a  complete  rule 
of  faith  and  practice,  and  while  nothing  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  an  article  of  faith  to  be  believed,  or  a  religious 
duty  obligatory  upon  the  conscience,  which  is  not  ex- 
plicitly or  implicitly  taught  in  Scripture,  nevertheless 
they  do  not  descend  in  practical  matters  into  details, 
but,  laying  down  general  principles,  leave  men  to  apply 
them,  in  the  exercise  of  their  natural  judgment,  in  the 
light  of  experience  and  in  adaptation  to  changing  cir- 
cumstances, as  they  are  guided  by  the  sanctifying  influ- 
ences of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

This  liberty,  of  course,  is  allowed  only  within  the 
limits  of  the  strict  interpretation  of  the  princ^les  taught 
in  the  Word,  and  in  the  legitimate  application  of  those 
principles,  and  applies  to  the  regulation  of  the  practical 
life  of  the  individual  and  of  the  Church  in  detailed 
adjustments  to  changing  circumstances. 

Section  VII. — All  things  in  Scripture  are  not  alike  plain  in 
themselves,  nor  alike  clear  unto  all;15  yet  those  things  which  are 
necessary  to  be  known,  believed  and  observed,  for  salvation,  aro 
so  clearly  propounded  and  opened  in  some  place  of  Scripture  or 
other,  that  not  only  the  learned,  but  the  unlearned,  in  a  due 
use  of  the  ordinary  means,  may  attain  unto  a  sufficient  under* 
standing  of  them.16 

"2  Pet.  iii.  16.— ™  Ps.  cxix.  105,  130. 


HOI/i    SCRIPTURE.  63 

This  section  affirms  that  the  Scriptures  are  m  such  a 
sense  perspicuous  that  all  that  is  necessary  for  man  to 
know,  in  order  to  his  salvation  or  for  his  practical 
guidance  in  duty,  may  be  learned  therefrom,  and  that 
they  are  designed  for  the  personal  use  and  are  adapted 
to  the  instruction  of  the  unlearned  as  well  as  the 
learned. 

Protestants  admit  that  many  of  the  truths  revealed  in 
the  Scriptures  in  their  own  nature  transcend  human 
understanding,  and  that  many  prophecies  remain  inten- 
tionally obscure  until  explained  by  their  fulfilment  in 
the  developments  of  history.  Nevertheless,  Protestants 
affirm  and  Romanists  deny  (a)  that  every  essential  article 
of  faith  and  rule  of  practice  may  be  clearly  learned 
from  Scripture ;  and  (b)  that  private  and  unlearned 
Christians  may  be  safely  allowed  to  interpret  Scripture 
for  themselves.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  true  that,  with 
the  advance  of  historical  and  critical  knowledge,  and  by 
means  of  controversies,  the  Church  as  a  community  has 
made  progress  in  the  accurate  interpretation  of  Scripture 
and  in  the  full  comprehension  of  the  entire  system  of 
truth  revealed  therein. 

That  the  Protestant  doctrine  on  this  subject  is  true,  is 
proved  (a)  from  the  fact  that  all  Christians  promiscu- 
ously are  commanded  to  search  the  Scriptures.  2  Tim. 
iii.  15-17  ;  Acts  xvii.  11  ;  John  v.  39. 

(b.)  From  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  are  addressed 
either  to  all  men  or  to  the  whole  body  of  believers. 
Deut.  vi.  4-9;  Luke  i.  3;  Rom.  i.  7 ;  1  Cor.  i.  2 ;  2 
Cor.  i.  1.  And  the  salutations  of  all  the  Epistles  except 
those  to  Timothy  and  Titus. 

(c.)    The  Scriptures  are  affirmed  to  be  perspicuous. 


64  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

Ps.cxix.  105,130;  2  Cor.  iii.  14;  2  Pet.  i.  18,  19;  2 
Tim.  iii.  15-17. 

(d.)  The  Scriptures  address  men  as  a  divine  law  to  be 
obeyed  and  as  a  guide  to  salvation.  If  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes  they  are  not  perspicuous  they  must  mis- 
lead, and  so  falsify  their  pretensions. 

(e.)  Experience  has  uniformly  proved  the  truth  of  the 
Protestant  doctrine.  Those  churches  which  have  most 
faithfully  disseminated  the  Scriptures  in  the  vernacular 
among  the  mass  of  the  people  have  conformed  most 
entirely  to  the  plain  and  certain  sense  of  their  teaching 
in  faith  and  practice ;  while  those  churches  which  have 
locked  them  up  in  the  hands  of  a  priesthood  have  to  the 
greatest  degree  departed  from  them  both  in  letter  and 
spirit. 

Section  VIII. — The  Old  Testament  in  Hebrew  (which  was 
the  native  language  of  the  people  of  God  of  old),  and  the  New 
Testament  in  Greek  (which  at  the  time  of  the  writing  of  it  was 
most  generally  known  to  the  nations),  being  immediately  inspired 
by  God,  and  by  his  singular  care  and  providence  kept  pure  in  all 
ages,  are  therefore  authentical  ;n  so  as  in  all  controversies  of  re- 
ligion the  Church  is  finally  to  appeal  unto  them.18  But  because 
these  original  tongues  are  not  known  to  all  the  people  of  God. 
who  have  right  unto  and  interest  in  the  Scriptures,  and  are  com- 
manded, in  the  fear  of  God,  to  read  and  search  them,19  therefore 
they  are  to  be  translated  into  the  vulgar  language  of  every  nation 
unto  which  they  come,20  that  the  word  of  God  dwelling  plenti- 
fully in  all,  they  may  worship  him  in  an  acceptable  manner,21 
and,  through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures,  may  have 
hope.22 

"  Matt.  v.  IS.—18  Isa.  viii.  20  ;  Acts  xv.  15 ;  John  v.  39,  46.— 19  John  v. 
i9.— 20  1  Cor.  xiv.  6,  9,  11,  12,  24,  27,  28.— 21  Col.  iii.  16.— 22  Rom.  xv.  4. 

This  section  teaches  : 

1st.  That  the  Old  Testament  having  been  originally 


HOLY    SCRIPTURE.  65 

written  in  Hebrew  and  the  New  Testament  in  Greek, 
which  were  the  common  languages  of  the  large  body  of 
the  Church  in  their  respective  periods,  the  Scriptures  in 
those  languages  are  the  absolute  rule  of  faith,  and  ulti- 
mate appeal  in  all  controversies.  2d.  That  the  original 
sacred  text  has  come  down  to  us  in  a  state  of  essential 
purity.  3d.  That  the  Scriptures  should  be  translated 
into  the  vernacular  languages  of  all  people,  and  copies 
put  into  the  hands  of  all  capable  of  reading  them. 

The  true  text  of  the  ancient  Scriptures  is  ascertained 
by  means  of  a  careful  collation  and  comparison  of  the 
following:  lat.  Ancient  manuscripts.  The  oldest  ex- 
isting Hebrew  manuscripts  date  from  the  ninth  or  tenth 
century.  The  oldest  Greek  manuscripts  date  from  the 
fourth  to  the  sixth  century.  Many  hundreds  of  these 
have  been  collated  by  eminent  scholars  in  forming  the 
text  of  modern  Hebrew  and  Greek  Testaments.  The 
differences  are  found  to  be  unimportant,  and  the  essen- 
tial integrity  of  our  text  is  established.  2d.  Quotations 
from  the  apostolic  Scriptures  found  in  the  writings  of 
the  early  Christians.  These  are  so  numerous  that  the 
whole  New  Testament  might  be  gathered  from  the  works 
of  writers  dating  before  the  seventh  century,  and  they 
prove  the  exact  state  of  the  text  at  the  time  in  which 
they  were  made. 

3d.  Early  translations  into  other  languages.  The 
principal  of  these  are  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch,  which 
the  Samaritans  inherited  from  the  ten  tribes ;  the  Greek 
Septuagint,  B.  C.  285 ;  the  Peshito  or  ancient  Syriac 
version,  A.  D.  100  ;  the  Latin  Vulgate  of  Jerome,  A.  D. 
385  ;  the  Coptic  of  the  fifth  century,  and  others  of  less 
critical  value. 

5 


66  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

Section  IX. — The  infallible  rule  of  interpretation  of  Scripture 
is  the  Scripture  itself;  and  therefore,  when  there  is  a  question 
about  the  true  and  full  sense  of  an}'-  Scripture  (which  is  not  man- 
ifold, but  one),  it  must  be  searched  and  known  by  other  places 
that  speak  more  clearly.23 

Section  X. — The  supreme  Judge,  by  which  all  controversies 
of  religion  are  to  be  determined,  and  all  decrees  of  councils,  opin- 
ions of  ancient  writers,  doctrines  of  men,  and  private  spirits,  are 
to  be  examined,  and  in  whose  sentence  we  are  to  rest,  can  be  no 
other  but  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  in  the  Scripture.24 

23  2  Pet.  i.  20,  21 ;  Acts  xv.  15,  16.— 2*  Matt.  xxii.  29,  31 ;  Eph.  ii.  20 ; 
Acts  xxviii.  25. 

These  sections  teach : 

1st.  That  the  infallible  and  only  true  "rule"  for  the 
interpretation  of  Scripture  is  Scripture  itself.  2d.  That 
the  Scriptures  are  the  supreme  "judge"  in  all  contro- 
versies concerning  religion. 

The  authority  of  the  Scriptures  as  the  ultimate  rule 
of  faith  rests  alone  in  the  fact  that  they  are  the  word 
of  God.  Since  all  these  writings  are  one  revelation, 
and  the  only  revelation  of  his  will  concerning  religion 
given  by  God  to  men,  it  follows :  1st.  That  they  are 
complete  as  a  revelation  in  themselves,  and  are  not  to 
be  supplemented  or  explained  by  light  drawn  from  any 
other  source.  2d.  That  the  different  sections  of  this 
revelation  mutually  supplement  and  explain  one  an- 
other. The  Holy  Spirit  who  inspired  the  Scriptures 
is  the  only  adequate  expounder  of  his  own  words,  and 
he  is  promised  to  all  the  children  of  God  as  a  Spirit 
of  light  and  truth.  In  dependance  upon  his  guidance, 
Christians  are  of  course  to  study  the  Scriptures,  using 
all  the  helps  of  true  learning  to  ascertain  their  meaning  ; 
but  this   meaning  is  to  be  sought  in    the   light  of  the 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  67 

Scriptures  themselves  taken  as  a  whole,  and  not  in  the 
light  either  of  tradition  or  of  philosophy. 

"  A  rule  is  a  standard  of  judgment;  a  judge  is  the 
expounder  and  applier  of  that  rule  to  the  decision  of 
particular  cases." 

The  Romish  doctrine  is,  that  the  Papal  Church  is  the 
infallible  teacher  of  men  in  religion  ;  that,  consequently, 
the  Church  authoritatively  determines,  (1)  what  is 
Scripture ;  (2)  what  is  tradition ;  (3)  what  is  the  true 
sense  of  Scripture  and  of  tradition ;  and  (4)  what  is  the 
true  application  of  that  rule  to  every  particular  question 
of  faith  or  practice. 

The  Protestant  doctrine  is,  1st.  That  the  Scriptures 
are  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice ;  2d.  (a)  nega- 
tively, that  there  is  no  body  of  men  qualified  or  author- 
ized to  interpret  the  Scriptures  or  to  apply  their  teach- 
ings to  the  decision  of  particular  questions  in  a  sense 
binding  upon  their  fellow-Christians ;  (6)  positively, 
that  the  Scriptures  are  the  only  authoritative  voice  in 
the  Church,  which  is  to  be  interpreted  mid  applied  by 
every  individual  for  himself,  with  the  assistance,  though 
not  by  the  authority,  of  his  fellow-Christians.  Creeds 
and  confessions,  as  to  form,  bind  those  only  who  volun- 
tarily profess  them;  and  as  to  matter,  they  bind  only  so 
far  as  they  affirm  truly  what  the  Bible  teaches,  and 
because  the  Bible  does  so  teach. 

This  must  be  true,  1st.  Because  the  Scriptures,  which 
profess  to  teach  us  the  way  of  salvation,  refer  us  to  no 
standard  or  judge  in  matters  of  religion  beyond  or  above 
themselves,  and  because  no  body  of  men  since  the  apos- 
tles have  ever  existed  with  the  qualifications  or  with  the 
authority  to  act  in  the  office  of  judge  for  their  fellows. 


68  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

2d.  Because,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Scriptures  are  them- 
selves complete  and  perspicuous. 

3d.  Because  all  Christians  are  commanded  to  search 
the  Scriptures,  and  to  judge  both  doctrines  and  professed 
teachers  themselves.  John  v.  39;  1  John  ii.  20,  27;  iv. 
1,  2;  Acts  xvii.  11  ;  Gal.  i.  8  ;  1  Thess.  v.  21. 

4th.  Because  all  Christians  are  promised  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  guide  them  in  the  understanding  and  practical 
use  of  the  truth.    Rom.  viii.  9 ;  1  John  ii.  20,  27. 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  propositions  are  affirmed  in  the  first  section? 

2.  What  is  the  first  stated  false  opinion  as  to  the  capacity  of 
men  to  attain  to  a  knowledge  of  God? 

3.  How  is  it  proved  to  be  false? 

4.  What  is  the  second  false  opinion  stated? 

5.  How  is  it  proved  to  be  false  ? 

6.  What  is  the  third  false  opinion  stated  ? 

7.  How  is  it  proved  to  be  false? 

8.  How  can  it  be  shown  that  a  supernatural  revelation  from 
God  to  man  is  antecedently  probable? 

9.  By  what  means  was  such  a  revelation  at  first  given  ? 

10.  How  has  it  since  been  embodied  and  transmitted  ? 

11.  How  may  the  fact  that  the  Christian  Scriptures  contain 
such  a  revelation  be  proved  ? 

12.  What  propositions  are  taught  in  the  second  and  third 
sections  ? 

13.  What  is  the  Old  Testament? 

14.  What  is  the  New  Testament? 

15.  By  what  principles  are  we  to  determine  whether  or  not  a 
book  has  a  right  to  a  place  in  the  canon  of  Scripture  ? 

16.  How  is  the  genuineness  of  all  the  books  received  by  Prot- 
estants in  the  Old  Testament  established? 

17.  How  is  the  genuineness  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
proved  ? 


HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  69 

18.  What  are  the  Apocrypha? 

19.  How  can  it  be  proved  that  they  are  no  part  of  Sacred 
Scripture  ? 

20.  What  is  inspiration? 

21.  What  are  the  effects  of  inspiration,  and  how  far  do  they 
extend  in  the  case  of  the  Scriptures? 

22.  State  the  evidence  that  the  Scriptures  are  inspired. 

23.  Show  that  the  authority  of  Scripture  does  not  rest  upon 
the  testimony  of  the  Church. 

24.  What  are  the  internal  evidences  which  authenticate  the 
claims  of  Scripture  ? 

25.  How  does  the  Holy  Ghost  bear  witness  to  the  Scriptures? 

26.  What  is  meant  by  the  affirmation  that  the  Scriptures  as  a 
rule  of  faith  and  practice  are  complete? 

27.  How  may  it  be  proved? 

28.  Prove  that  no  additional  revelations  of  the  Spirit  are  to  be 
expected  during  the  present  dispensation. 

29.  Prove  that  traditions  of  men  are  not  to  be  admitted. 

30.  How  does  spiritual  illumination  differ  from  inspiration? 

31.  What  liberty  of  action  do  the  Scriptures  allow  for  the 
reason  and  choice  of  men  in  prudentially  ordering  matters  that 
concern  religion  ? 

32.  What  is  meant  by  affirming  that  the  Scriptures  are  per- 
spicuous ? 

33.  What  do  Protestants  admit  and  what  do  they  affirm  on 
this  subject? 

34.  Prove  that  the  Scriptures  are  perspicuous. 

35.  What  propositions  are  affirmed  in  the  eighth  section  ? 

36.  By  what  means  is  the  integrity  of  the  text  of  our  modern 
copies  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  Scriptures  established? 

37.  What  propositions  do  the  ninth  and  tenth  sections  affirm  ? 

38.  Show  that  Scripture  must  be  interpreted  by  Scripture. 

39.  What  is  the  Romish  doctrine  as  to  the  authority  of  the 
Church  in  questions  of  faith  and  practice? 

40.  What  is  the  difference  between  a  "rule"  and  a  "judge?" 

41.  WThat  is  the  Protestant  doctrine  as  to  the  true  judge  of 
controversies? 

42.  Prove  the  truth  of  the  Protestant  doctrine. 


CHAPTER    II. 

OF   GOD   AND   OF   THE   HOLY   TRINITY. 

Section  I. — There  is  but  one  only1  living  and  true  God,3  who 
is  infinite  in  being  and  perfection,3  a  most  pure  spirit,4  invisible,6 
without  body,  parts,6  or  passions,7  immutable,8  immense,9  eter- 
nal,10 incomprehensible,11  almighty,12  most  wise,13  most  holy,14 
most  free,15  most  absolute,16  working  all  things  according  to  the 
counsel  of  his  own  immutable  and  most  righteous  will,17  for  his 
own  glory  ;18  most  loving,19  gracious,  merciful,  long-suffering, 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression 
and  sin  ;20  the  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him  ;21  and 
withal  most  just  and  terrible  in  his  judgments  ;22  hating  all  sin,28 
and  who  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty.24 

Section  II.— God  hath  all  life,25  glory,26  goodness,27  blessed- 
ness,28 in  and  of  himself;  and  is  alone  in  and  unto  himself  all- 
sufficient,  not  standing  in  need  of  any  creatures  which  he  hath* 
made,29  not  deriving  any  glory  from  them,30  but  only  manifest- 
ing his  own  glory,  in,  by,  unto  and  upon  them  :  he  is  the  alone 
fountain  of  all  being,  of  whom,  through  whom  and  to  whom, 
are  all  things  ;31  and  hath  most  sovereign  dominion  over  them, 
to  do  by  them,  for  them,  or  unon  them,  whatsoever  himself 
pleaseth.32  In  his  sight  all  things  are  open  and  manifest  ;33  his 
knowledge  is  infinite,  infallible  and  independent  upon  the  crea- 
ture,34 so  as  nothing  is  to  him  contingent  or  uncertain.35  He  is 
most  holy  in  all  his  counsels,  in  all  his  works  and  in  all  his  com- 
mands.86 To  him  is  due  from  angels  and  men,  and  every  other 
creature,  whatsoever  worship,  service  or  obedience,  he  is  pleased 
to  require  of  them.37 

1  Deut.  vi.  4 ;  1  Cor.  viii.  4,  6.— *  1  Thess.  i.  9;  Jer.  x.  10.—'  Job  xi.  7- 
9 ;  xxvi.  14.—*  John  iv.  24.-5  i  Tim.  i.  17.— 6  Deut.  iv.  15,  16 ;  John  iv. 
24;   Luke  xxiv.  39.— »  Acts  xiv.  11,  15.— 8  James   i.  17;  Mai.  iii.  6.— »  J 
70 


GOD    AND    THE    HOLY   TRINITY.  71 

Kings  viii.  27 :  Jer.  xxiii.  23,  24.—™  Ps.  xc.  2  :  1  Tim.  i.  17. — !J  Pb.  - 
3._i2  Qen#  xvji.  i-  rcv.  iv.  s.— 13  Rom.  xvi.  27.— "  Isa.  vi.  3;  Rev.  i\ 
8.—15  ps.  cxv.  3.— 16  Ex.  iii.  14.—"  Eph.  i.  II.—18  Prov.  xvi.  4;  Horn.  xi. 
36.—19  1  John  iv.  S,  10.— 20  Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  7.— 21  Heb.  xi.  6.-22  Neh<  ix,  32j 
33.-23  Ps.  v.  5j  o.— 2*  Neh.  i.  2,  3;  Ex.  xxxiv.  7.—^  John  v.  26.-26  Acts 
vii.  2.—2'  Ps.  cxix.  68.-28  i  Tim.  vi.  10 ;  Rom.  ix.  5.— »  Acts  xvii.  24, 
2f  .—30  Job  xxii.  2,  3.— 31  Rom.  xi.  36.-32  i>cv.  iv.  11 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  15  ;  Dan. 
iv.  25,  35.-33  Heb.  iv.  13.— u  Rom.  xi.  33,  34 ;  Ps.  cxlvii.  5.— »  Acts  xv. 
18,  Ezek.  xi.  5.— 36  Ps.  cxlv.  17;  Rom.  vii.  12.— S7  Rev.  v.  12,  14. 


These  sections  teach  the  following  propositions : 

1st.  There  is  but  one  living  and  true  God. 

2d.  This  God  is  a  free  personal  Spirit,  without  bodily 
parts  or  passions. 

3d.  He  possesses  all  absolute  perfections  in  and  of 
himself. 

4th.  He  possesses  all  relative  perfections  with  respect 
to  his  creatures. 

5th.  He  is  self-existent  and  absolutely  independent, 
the  sole  support,  j^roprietor  and  sovereign  disposer  of 
all  his  creatures. 

1st.  There  is  but  one  living  and  true  God. 

There  have  been  false  gods  innunierable,  and  the 
title  god  has  been  applied  to  angels  (Ps.  xcvii.  7),  be- 
cause of  their  spirituality  and  exalted  excellence,  and  to 
magistrates  (Ps.  lxxxii.  6),  because  of  their  authority; 
and  Satan  is  called  "  the  god  of  this  world"  (2  Cor.  iv. 
4),  because  of  his  usurped  dominion  over  the  wicked. 
In  opposition,  therefore,  to  the  claims  of  all  false  gods, 
and  in  exclusion  of  all  figurative  u>e  of  the  term,  it  is 
affirmed  that  there  is  but  one  true  God,  one  living  God. 

This  affirmation  includes  two  propositions  :  (a.)  There- 
is  but  one  God.  (b.)  This  one  God  is  an  absolute  unit, 
incapable  of  division. 


72  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

That  there  is  but  one  God  is  proved — (1)  From  the 
tact  that  every  argument  that  establishes  the  being  of 
God,  suggests  the  existence  of  but  one.  There  must  be 
one  first  cause,  but  there  is  no  evidence  of  more  than 
one.  There  must  be  one  designing  intelligence  and  one 
moral  governor,  but  neither  the  argument  from  design 
nor  from  conscience  suggests  more  than  one.  (2.)  The 
creation  throughout  its  whole  extent  is  one  system  pre- 
senting absolute  unity  of  design,  and  hence  evidently 
emanating  from  one  designing  intelligence.  (3.)  The 
same  is  true  of  the  system  of  providential  government. 
(4.)  The  sense  of  moral  accountability  innate  in  man 
witnesses  to  the  unity  of  the  source  of  all  absolute 
authority.  (5.)  All  the  instincts  and  cultivated  habits 
of  reason  lead  us  to  refer  the  multiplicity  of  the  phe- 
nomenal world  backward  and  upward  to  a  ground  of 
absolute  unity,  which  being  infinite  and  absolute,  ne- 
cessarily excludes  division  and  rivalry.  (6.)  The  Scrip- 
tures constantly  affirm  this  truth.  Deut.  vi.  4 ;  1  Cor. 
viii.  4. 

The  indivisible  unity  of  this  one  God  is  proved  by 
the  same  arguments.  For  an  essential  division  in  the 
one  Godhead  would  in  effect  constitute  two  Gods ;  be- 
sides, the  Scriptures  teach  us  that  the  Christian  Trinity 
is  one  undivided  God :  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one." 
John  x.  30. 

2d.  This  God  is  a  free  personal  Spirit,  without  bodily 
parts  or  passions. 

There  is  a  very  ancient  prevalent  and  persistent  mode 
of  thought  which  pervades  a  great  deal  of  our  literature 
in  the  present  day,  which  tends  to  compound  God  with 
the  world,  and  to  identify  him  with  the  laws  of  nature, 


GOD    AND    THE    HOLY    TRINITY.  73 

the  order  and  beauty  of  creation.  In  one  way  or  another 
he  is  considered  as  sustaining  to  tlie  phenomena  ol 
nature  the  relation  of  soul  to  body,  or  of  whole  to  parts, 
or  of  permanent  substance  to  transient  modes.  Now  all 
the  arguments  that  establish  the  being  of  a  God  agree 
with  the  Scriptures  in  setting  him  forth  as  a  personal 
spirit  distinct  from  the  world. 

By  spirit  we  mean  the  subject  to  which  the  attributes 
of  intelligence,  feeling  and  will  belong  as  active  prop- 
erties. Where  these  unite  there  is  distinct  personality. 
The  argument  from  design  proves  that  the  great  first 
cause  to  whom  the  system  of  the  universe  is  to  be  re- 
ferred possesses  both  intelligence,  benevolence  and  will 
in  selecting  ends,  and  in  choosing  and  adapting  means 
to  effect  those  ends.  Therefore  he  is  a  personal  spirit. 
The  argument  from  the  sense  of  moral  accountability 
innate  in  all  men  proves  that  we  are  subject  to  a 
supreme  Lawgiver,  exterior  and  superior  to  the  persons 
he  governs,  one  who  takes  knowledge  of  us,  and  will 
hold  us  to  a  strict  personal  account.  Therefore  he  is  a 
personal  spirit  distinct  from — though  intimately  asso- 
ciated with — the  subjects  he  governs. 

We  know  spirit  by  self-consciousness,  and  in  affirm- 
ing that  God  is  a  spirit  we  (1)  affirm  that  he  possesses 
in  infinite  perfection  all  those  properties  which  belong 
to  our  spirits,  (a)  because  the  Scriptures  affirm  that  we 
were  created  in  his  image,  (6)  because  they  attribute  all 
these  properties  severally  to  him,  (c)  because  our  religious 
nature  demands  that  we  recognize  them  in  him,  (d)  be- 
cause their  exercise  is  evidenced  in  his  works  of  creation 
and  providence,  (e)  because  they  were  possessed  by  the 
divine   nature    in   Christ.     And  (2)  we  deny  that  the 


74  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

properties  of  matter,  such  as  bodily  parts  and  passions, 
belong  to  him.  We  make  this  denial,  (a)  because  there 
is  no  evidence  that  he  does  possess  any  such  properties, 
and,  (6)  because,  from  the  very  nature  of  matter  and  its 
affections,  it  is  inconsistent  with  those  infinite  and  abso- 
lute perfections  which  are  of  his  essence,  such  as  sim- 
plicity, unchangeableness,  unity,  omnipresence,  etc, 

When  the  Scriptures,  in  condescension  to  our  weak- 
ness, express  the  fact  that  God  hears  by  saying  that  he 
has  an  ear,  or  that  he  exerts  power  by  attributing  to  him 
a  hand,  they  evidently  speak  metaphorically,  because  in 
the  case  of  men  spiritual  faculties  are  exercised  through 
bodily  organs.  And  when  they  speak  of  his  repenting, 
of  his  being  grieved  or  jealous,  they  use  metaphorical 
language  also,  teaching  us  that  he  acts  toward  us  as  a 
man  would  when  agitated  by  such  passions.  Such  me- 
taphors are  characteristic  rather  of  the  Old  than  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  occur  for  the  most  part  in  highly 
rhetorical  passages  of  the  poetical  and  prophetical 
books. 

3d.  He  possesses  all  absolute  perfections  in  and  of 
himself. 

4th.  He  possesses  all  relative  perfections  with  respect 
to  his  creatures. 

The  attributes  of  God  are  the  properties  of  his  all- 
perfect  nature.  Those  are  absolute  which  belong  to 
God,  considered  in  himself  alone — as  self-existence, 
immensity,  eternity,  intelligence,  etc.  Those  are  rela- 
tive which  characterize  him  in  his  relation  to  his  crea- 
tures— as  omnipresence,  omniscience,  etc. 

It  is  evident  that  we  can  know  only  such  properties 
of  God  as  he  has  condescended  to  reveal  to  us,  and  only 


GOD    AND    THE   HOLY   TRINITY.  75 

so  much  of  these  as  he  has  revealed.  The  question, 
then,  is,  What  has  God  revealed  to  us  of  his  perfections 
in  his  word  ? 

(1.)  God  is  declared  to  be  infinite  in  his  being. 
Hence  he  can  exist  under  none  of  the  limitations  of 
time  or  space.  He  must  be  eternal  and  he  must  fill  all 
immensity.  These  three,  therefore,  must  be  the  com- 
mon perfections  of  all  the  properties  that  belong  to  his 
essence.  Pie  is  infinite,  eternal,  omnipresent  in  his 
being ;  infinite,  eternal,  omnipresent  in  his  wisdom,  in 
his  power,  in  his  justice,  etc.  When  God  is  said  to  be 
infinite  in  his  knowledge  or  his  power,  we  mean  that  he 
knows  all  things,  and  that  he  can  effect  all  that  he  wills, 
without  any  limit.  When  we  say  that  he  is  infinite  in 
his  truth,  or  his  justice,  or  his  goodness,  we  mean  that 
he  possesses  these  properties  in  absolute  perfection. 

(2.)  His  immensity.  When  we  attribute  this  perfec- 
tion to  God,  we  mean  that  his  essence  fills  all  space. 
This  cannot  be  effected  through  multiplication  of  his 
essence,  since  he  is  ever  one  and  indivisible;  nor  through 
its  extension  or  diffusion,  like  ether,  through  the  inter- 
planetary spaces,  because  it  is  pure  spirit.  The  Spirit 
of  God,  like  the  spirit  of  a  man,  must  be  an  absolute 
unit,  without  extension  or  dimensions.  Therefore,  the 
entire  indivisible  Godhead  must,  in  the  totality  of  his 
being,  be  simultaneously  present  every  moment  of  time 
at  every  point  of  space.  He  is  immense  absolutely  and 
from  eternity.  He  has  been  omnipresent,  in  his  essence 
and  in  all  the  properties  thereof,  ever  since  the  creation, 
to  every  atom  and  element  of  which  it  consists.  Al- 
though God  is  essentially  equally  omnipresent  to  all 
creatures   at  all   times,  yet,  as  he  variously  manifests 


76  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

himself  at  different  times  and  places  to  his  intelligent 
creatures,  so  he  is  said  to  be  peculiarly  present  to  them 
under  such  conditions.  Thus,  God  was  present  to 
Moses  in  the  burning  bush.  Ex.  iii.  2-6.  And  Christ 
promises  to  be  in  the  midst  of  two  or  three  met  together 
in  his  name.  Matt,  xviii.  20. 

(3.)  His  eternity.  By  affirming  that  God  is  eternal, 
we  mean  that  his  duration  has  no  limit  and  that  his 
existence  in  infinite  duration  is  absolutely  perfect.  He 
could  have  had  no  beginning,  he  can  have  no  end,  and 
in  his  existence  there  can  be  no  succession  of  thoughts, 
feelings  or  purposes.  There  can  be  no  increase  to  his 
knowledge,  no  change  as  to  his  purpose.  Hence  the 
past  and  the  future  must  be  as  immediately  and  as  im- 
mutably present  with  him  as  the  present.  Hence  his 
existence  is  an  ever-abiding,  all-embracing  present, 
which  is  always  contemporaneous  with  the  ever-flowing 
times  of  his  creatures.  His  knowledge,  which  never 
can  change,  eternally  recognizes  his  creatures  and  their 
actions  in  their  several  places  in  time,  and  his  actions 
upon  his  creatures  pass  from  him  at  the  precise  moments 
predetermined  in  his  unchanging  purpose. 

Hence  God  is  absolutely  unchangeable  in  his  being 
and  in  all  the  modes  and  states  thereof.  In  his  know- 
ledge, his  feelings,  his  purposes,  and  hence  in  his  en- 
gagements to  his  creatures,  he  is  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day  and  for  ever.  "  The  counsel  of  the  Lord  stand- 
eth  for  ever,  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  to  all  generations." 
Ps.  xxxiii.  11. 

(4.)  The  infinite  intelligence  of  God,  including  om- 
niscience and  absolutely  perfect  wisdom,  is  clearly 
taught  in  Scripture.     God's  knowledge  is  infinite,  not 


GOD    AND   THE   HOLY    TJRINITY.  77 

only  as  to  the  range  of  objects  it  embraces,  but  also  as 
to  its  perfection,  (a.)  We  know  things  only  as  they 
stand  related  to  our  organs  of  perception,  and  only  in 
their  properties.  God  knows  them  immediately,  in  the 
light  of  his  own  intelligence  and  in  their  essential 
nature.  (6.)  We  know  things  successively  as  they  are 
present  to  us,  or  as  we  pass  inferentially  from  the  known 
to  the  before  unknown..  God  knows  all  things  eternally 
by  one  direct,  all-comprehensive  intuition,  (c.)  Our 
knowledge  is  dependent ;  God's  is  independent.  Ours 
is  fragmentary ;  God's  total  and  complete.  Ours  is  in 
great  measure  transient ;  God's  is  permanent. 

God  knows  himself,  the  depths  of  his  own  infinite 
and  eternal  being,  the  constitution  of  his  nature,  the 
ideas  of  his  reason,  the  resources  of  his  power,  the  pur- 
poses of  his  will.  In  knowing  the  resources  of  his 
power  he  knows  all  things  possible.  In  knowing  thf 
immutable  purposes  of  his  will  he  knows  all  that  has 
existed  or  that  will  exist,  because  of  that  purpose. 

Wisdom  presupposes  knowledge,  and  is  that  excellent 
practical  use  which  the  absolutely  perfect  intelligence 
and  will  of  God  make  of  his  infinite  knowledge.  It  is 
exercised  in  the  election  of  ends,  general  and  special, 
and  in  the  selection  of  means  in  order  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  those  ends,  and  is  illustrated  gloriously  in 
the  perfect  system  of  God's  works  of  creation,  provi- 
dence and  grace. 

(5.)  The  omnipotence  of  God  is  the  infinite  efficiency 
resident  in  and  inseparable  from  the  divine  essence  to 
effect  whatsoever  he  wills  without  any  limitation  soever, 
except  such  as  lies  in  the  absolute  and  immutable  per- 
fections of  his  owi  nature.     The  power  of  God  is  botb 


78  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

unlimited  in  its  range  and  infinitely  perfect  in  its  mode 
of  action.  (1.)  We  are  conscious  that  the  powers  inhe- 
rent in  our  wills  are  very  limited.  Our  wills  can  act 
directly  only  upon  the  course  of  our  thoughts  and  a  few 
bodily  actions,  and  can  only  very  imperfectly  control 
these.  The  power  inherent  in  God's  will  acts  directly 
upon  its  objects,  and  effects  absolutely  and  uncondition- 
ally all  he  intends.  (2.)  We  work  through  means;  the 
effect  often  follows  only  remotely,  and  our  action  is 
conditioned  by  external  circumstances.  God  acts  imme- 
diately with  or  without  means  as  he  pleases.  When  he 
acts  through  means  it  is  a  condescension,  because  the 
means  receive  all  their  efficiency  from  his  power,  not 
his  power  from  the  means.  And  the  power  of  God  is 
absolutely  independent  of  all  that  is  exterior  to  his  own 
all-perfect  nature. 

The  power  of  God  is  the  power  of  his  all-perfect,  self- 
existent  essence.  He  has  absolutely  unlimited  power  to 
do  whatsoever  his  nature  determines  him  to  will.  But , 
this  power  cannot  be  directed  against  his  nature.  The 
ultimate  principles  of  reason  and  of  moral  right  and 
wrong  are  not  products  of  the  divine  power,  but  are 
principles  of  the  divine  nature.  God  cannot  change  the 
nature  of  right  and  wrong,  etc.,  because  he  did  not  make 
himself,  and  these  have  their  determination  in  his  own 
eternal  perfections.  He  cannot  act  unwisely  or  unright- 
eously, not  for  want  of  the  power  as  respects  the  act,  but 
for  want  of  will,  since  God  is  eternally,  immutably  and 
most  freely  and  spontaneously  wise  and  righteous. 

God's  omnipotence  is  illustrated,  but  never  exhausted, 
in  his  works  of  creation  and  providence.  God's  power 
is  exercised  at  his  will,  but  there  ever  remains  an  infinite 


GOD    AND    THE   HOLY   TIUNITY.  79 

reserve  of  possibility  lying  back  of  the  actual  exercise 
of  power,  since  the  Creator  always  infinitely  transcends 
his  creation. 

(G.)  The  absolutely  perfect  goodness  of  God.  The 
moral  perfection  of  God  is  one  absolutely  perfect  right- 
eousness. Relatively  to  his  creatures  his  infinite  moral 
perfection  always  presents  that  aspect  which  his  infinite 
wisdom  decides  to  be  appropriate  to  the  case.  He  is 
not  alternately  merciful  and  just,  nor  partially  merciful 
and  partially  just,  but  eternally  and  perfectly  merciful 
and  just.  Both  are  right;  both  are  equally  and  spon- 
taneously in  his  nature,  and  both  are  perfectly  and  freely 
harmonized  by  the  infinite  wisdom  of  that  nature. 

His  goodness  includes  (a)  Benevolence,  or  goodness 
viewed  as  a  disposition  to  promote  the  happiness  of  his 
sensitive  creatures ;  (b)  Love,  or  goodness  viewed  as  a 
disposition  to  promote  the  happiness  of  intelligent  crea- 
tures, and  to  regard  with  complacency  their  excellences 

(c)  Mercy,  or  goodness  exercised  toward  the  miserable 

(d)  Grace,  or  goodness  exercised  toward  the  undeserving. 
The  grace  of  God  toward  the  undeserving  evidently 

rests  upon  his  sovereign  will  (Matt.  xi.  26 ;  Ho  in.  ix. 
15),  and  can  be  assured  to  us  only  by  means  of  a  posi- 
tive revelation.  Neither  reason  nor  conscience  nor  ob- 
servation of  nature  can  assure  us,  independently  of  his 
own  special  revelation,  that  he  will  be  gracious  to  the 
guilty.  Our  duty  is  to  forgive  injuries;  we  as  individ- 
uals have  nothing  to  do  with  either  forgiving  or  pardon- 
ing sin.  That  God's  goodness  is  absolutely  perfect  and 
inexhaustible  is  proved  from  universal  experience,  as 
well  as  from  Scripture.  James  iii.  17;  v.  11.  It  is 
exercised,  however,  not  in  making  the  happiness  of  his 


80  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

creatures  indiscriminately  and  unconditionally  a  chief 
end,  but  is  regulated  by  his  wisdom  in  order  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  supreme  ends  of  his  own  glory 
and  their  excellence. 

(7.)  God  is  absolutely  true.  This  is  a  common  prop- 
erty of  all  the  divine  perfections  and  actions.  His 
knowledge  is  absolutely  accurate ;  his  wisdom  infallible; 
his  goodness  and  justice  perfectly  true  to  the  standard 
of  his  own  nature.  In  the  exercise  of  all  his  properties 
God  is  always  self-consistent.  He  is  also  always  abso- 
lutely true  to  his  creatures  in  all  his  communications, 
sincere  in  his  promises  and  threatenings,  and  faithful  in 
their  fulfilment. 

This  lays  the  foundation  for  all  rational  confidence  in 
the  constitution  of  our  own  natures  and  in  the  order  of 
the  external  world,  as  well  as  in  a  divinely-accredited, 
supernatural  revelation.  It  guarantees  the  validity  of 
the  information  of  our  senses,  the  truth  of  the  intuitions 
of  reason  and  conscience,  the  correctness  of  the  inferences 
of  the  understanding,  and  the  general  credibility  of  hu- 
man testimony,  and  pre-eminently  the  reliability  of 
every  word  of  the  inspired  Scriptures. 

(8.)  The  infinite  justice  of  God.  This,  viewed  abso- 
lutely, is  the  all-perfect  righteousness  of  God's  being 
considered  in  himself.  Viewed  relatively,  it  is  his  infi- 
nitely righteous  nature  exercised,  as  the  moral  governor 
of  his  intelligent  creatures,  in  the  imposition  of  right- 
eous laws,  and  in  their  righteous  execution.  It  appears 
in  the  general  administration  of  his  government  viewed 
as  a  whol  i,  and  distribute vely  in  his  dealing  to  individ- 
uals that  treatment  which  righteously  belongs  to  them, 
according  to  his  own  covenants  and  their  own  deserts. 


GOD    AND    THE   HOLY   TRINITY.  81 

God  is  most  willingly  just,  but  his  justice  is  no  more  an 
optional  product  of  his  will  than  is  his  self-existent 
being.  It  is  an  immutable  principle  of  his  divine  con- 
stitution. He  is  "  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil, 
and  cannot  look  on  iniquity."  Heb.  i.  13.  "  He  cannot 
deny  himself."  2  Tim.  ii.  13.  God  does  not  make  his 
demands  just  by  willing  them,  but  he  wills  them  be- 
cause they  are  just. 

The  infinite  righteousness  of  his  immutable  being 
determines  him  to  regard  and  to  treat  all  sin  as  intrin- 
sically hateful  and  deserving  of  punishment.  The  pun- 
ishment of  sin  and  its  consequent  discouragement  is  an 
obvious  benefit  to  the  subjects  of  his  government  in 
general.  It  is  a  revelation  of  righteousness  in  God, 
and  a  powerful  stimulant  to  moral  excellence  in  them. 
But  God  hates  sin  because  it  is  intrinsically  hateful, 
and  punishes  it  because  such  punishment  is  intrinsically 
righteous.     This  is  proved — 

(a.)  From  the  direct  assertions  of  Scripture:  "To 
me  belongeth  vengeance  and  recompense."  Deut.  xxxii. 
35.  "According  to  their  deeds,  accordingly  he  will 
repay."  Isa.  lix.  18.  "Seeing  it  is  a  righteous  thing 
with  God  to  recompense  tribulation  to  them  which  trou- 
ble you."  2  Thess.  i.  6.  "  Knowing  the  judgment  of 
God,  that  they  which  commit  such  things  are  worthy  of 
death."  Rom.  i.  32. 

(b.)  The  Scriptures  teach  that  the  vicarious  suffering 
of  the  penalty  due  to  his  people  by  Christ  as  their  sub- 
stitute was  absolutely  necessary  to  enable  God  to  con- 
tinue just  and  at  the  same  time  the  justifier  of  him 
that  believeth  in  Jesus.  Rom.  iii.  26.  "  If  righteous- 
ness come  by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead  in  vain."  Gal. 


82  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

ii.  21.  "If  there  had  been  a  law  that  could  have  given 
life,  verily  righteousness  should  have  been  by  the  law." 
Gal.  iii.  21.  That  is,  if  God  could  have  in  consistency 
with  justice  pardoned  sinners  without  an  expiation, 
* :  verily"  he  would  not  have  sacrificed  his  own  Son  "  in 
vain." 

(c.)  It  is  a  universal  judgment  of  awakened  sinners 
that  their  sin  deserves  punishment  and  that  im- 
mutable righteousness  demands  it.  And  this  is  the 
sentence  universally  pronounced  by  the  moral  sense  of 
enlightened  men  with  regard  to  all  crime. 

(d.)  The  same  changeless  principle  of  righteousness 
was  inculcated  by  all  the  divinely-appointed  sacrifices 
of  the  Mosaic  dispensation :  "  Almost  all  things  by  the 
law  are  purged  with  blood,  and  without  the  shedding 
of  blood  is  no  remission."  Heb.  ix.  22.  It  has  also 
been  illustrated  in  the  sacrificial  rites  of  all  heathen 
nations,  and  in  all  human  laws  and  penalties. 

(9.)  The  infinite  holiness  of  God.  Sometimes  this 
terra  is  applied  to  God  to  express  his  perfect  purity: 
"  Sanctify  yourselves  and  be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy." 
Lev.  xi.  44.  In  that  case  it  is  an  element  of  his  per- 
fect righteousness.  "  The  Lord  is  righteous  in  all  his 
ways,  and  holy  in  all  his  works."  Ps.  cxlv.  17.  Some- 
times it  expresses  his  transcendently  august  and  vener- 
able majesty,  which  is  the  result  of  all  his  harmonious 
and  blended  perfections  in  one  perfection  of  absolute 
and  infinite  .  excellence.  "  And  one  cried  to  another, 
Holy !  holy !  holy !  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  the  whole 
earth  is  full  of  his  glory."  Isa.  vi.  3. 

5th.  God  is  self-existent  and  absolutely  independent, 
the  so  e  support,  proprietor  and  sovereign  disposer  of 


GOD    AND   THE    HOLY   TRINITY.  83 

his  creatures.  Since  God  is  eternal  and  the  Creator  out 
of  nothing  of  all  things  that  exist  besides  himself,  it 
follows  (a)  that  his  own  being  must  have  the  cause  of 
its  existence  in  itself — that  is,  that  he  is  self-existent;  (6) 
that  he  is  absolutely  independent  in  his  being,  purposes 
and  actions  of  all  other  beings;  and  (c)  that  all  other 
beings  of  right  belong  to  him,  and  in  fact  are  absolutely 
dependent  upon  him  in  their  being,  and  subject  to  him 
in  their  actions  and  destinies. 

Tne  sovereignty  of  God  is  his  absolute  right  to 
govern  and  dispose  of  the  work  of  his  own  hands 
according  to  his  own  good  pleasure.  This  sovereignty 
restb  not  in  his  will  abstractly,  but  in  his  adorable  per- 
son. Hence  it  is  an  infinitely  wise,  righteous,  benevo- 
lent and  powerful  sovereignty,  unlimited  by  anything 
outside  of  his  own  perfections. 

The  grounds  of  his  sovereignty  are — (a)  His  infinite 
superiority.  (6.)  His  absolute  ownership  of  all  things 
as  created  by  him.  (c.)  The  perpetual  and  absolute 
dependence  of  all  things  upon  him  for  being,  and  of  all 
intelligent  creatures  for  blessedness.  Dan.  iv.  25,  35 ; 
Rev.  iv.  11. 

Section  III. — In  the  unity  of  the  Godhead  there  be  three 
persons,  of  one  substance,  power  and  eternity ;  God  the  Father, 
God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost.38  The  Father  is  of  none, 
neither  begotten  nor  proceeding;  the  Son  is  eternally  begotten 
of  the  Father  ;39  the  Holy  Ghost  eternally  proceeding  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son.*0 

38  1  John  v.  7;  Matt.  iii.  16,  17;  xxviii.  19;  2  Cor.  xiii.  14.— s9  John  i. 
14,  18.— «  John  xv.  26;  Gal.  iv.  6. 

Having  before  ^hown  that  there  is  but  one  living  and 


84  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

true  God,  and  that  his  essential  properties  embrace  all 
perfections,  this  Section  asserts  in  addition — 

1st.  That  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  are  each 
equally  that  one  God,  and  that  the  indivisible  divine 
essence  and  all  divine  perfections  and  prerogatives  be- 
long to  each  in  the  same  sense  and  degree. 

2d.  That  these  titles,  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost, 
are  not  different  names  of  the  same  person  in  different 
relations,  but  of  different  persons. 

3d.  That  these  three  divine  persons  are  distinguished 
from  one  another  by  certain  personal  properties,  and 
are  revealed  in  a  certain  order  of  subsistence  and  of 
operation. 

These  propositions  embrace  the  Christian  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  (three  in  unity),  which  is  no  part  of  nat- 
ural religion,  though  most  clearly  revealed  in  the  in- 
spired Scriptures — indistinctly,  perhaps,  in  the  Old 
Testament,  but  with  especial  defmiteness  in  the  New 
Testament. 

1st.  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  are  each  equally 
the  one  God,  and  the  indivisible  divine  essence,  and  all 
divine  perfections  and  prerogatives  belong  to  each  in 
the  same  sense  and  degree. 

Since  there  is  but  one  God,  the  infinite  and  the  abso- 
lute First  Cause,  his  essence,  being  spiritual,  cannot  be 
divided.  If  then  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  are  that 
one  God,  they  must  each  equally  consist  of  that  same 
essence.  And  since  the  attributes  of  God  are  the  in- 
herent properties  of  his  essence,  they  are  inseparable 
from  that  essence ;  and  it  follows  that  if  Father,  Son 
and  Holy  Ghost  consist  of  the  same  numerical  essence, 
they  must  have  the  same  identical  attributes  in  common; 


GOD    AND   THE   HOLY    TRINITY.  85 

that  is,  there  is  common  to  them  the  one  intelligence  and 
the  one  will,  etc. 

The  Scriptures  are  full  of  the  evidences  of  this  fun- 
damental truth.  It  has  never  been  questioned  whether 
the  Father  is  God.  That  the  Son  is  the  true  God  is 
proved  by  the  following  considerations : 

(1.)  Christ  existed  before  he  was  born  of  the  Virgin. 
(a.)  He  was  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was. 
John  viii.  58 ;  xvii.  5.  (6.)  "  He  came  into  the 
world."  "  He  came  down  from  heaven."  John  iii. 
31  ;  xvi.  28. 

(2.)  All  the  names  and  titles  of  God  are  constantly 
applied  to  Christ,  and  to  none  others  except  to  the 
Father  and  the  Spirit :  as  Jehovah,  Jer.  xxiii.  6 ; 
mighty  God,  everlasting  Father,  Isa.  ix.  6 ;  God,  John 
i.  1  ;  Heb.  i.  8  ;  God  over  all,  Rom.  ix.  5 ;  the  true 
God  and  everlasting  life,  1  John  v.  20 ;  the  Alpha  and 
the  Omega,  the  Almighty,  Rev.  i.  8. 

(3.)  All  divine  attributes  are  predicated  of  him 
Eternity,  John  viii.  58 ;  xvii.  5 ;  Rev.  i.  8 ;  xxii.  13 
immutability,  Heb.  i.  10,  11;  xiii.  8;  omnipresence 
Matt,  xviii.  20 ;  John  iii.  13 ;  omniscience,  Matt.  xi.  27 
John  ii.  25;.  Rev.  ii.  23;  omnipotence,  John  v.  17 
Heb.  i.  3. 

(4.)  The  Scriptures  attribute  all  divine  works  to 
Christ:  Creation,  John  i.  3-10;  Col.  i.  16,17;  preser- 
vation and  providential  government,  Heb.  i.  3;  Col.  i. 
17;  Matt,  xxviii.  18;  the  final  judgment,  John  v.  22; 
Matt.  xxv.  31,  32;  2  Cor.  v.  10;  giving  eternal  life, 
John  x.  28;  sending  the  Holy  Ghost,  John  xvi.  7; 
tsanctification,  Eph.  v.  25-27. 

(5.)  The  Scriptures  declare  that  divine  worship  should 


$Q  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

be  paid  to  him  :  Heb.  i.  6  ;  Kev.  i.  5,  6  ;  v.  11,  12 ;  1 
Cor.  i.  2 ;  John  v.  23.  Men  are  to  be  baptized  into  the 
name  of  Jesus,  as  well  as  into  the  name  of  the  Father 
and  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  grace  of  Jesus  is  invoked 
in  the  apostolical  benediction. 

That  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  true  God  is  proved  in  a 
similar  manner. 

(1.)  He  is  called  God.  What  the  Spirit  says  Jehovah 
says.  Compare  Isa.  vi.  8,  9  with  Acts  xxviii.  25,  and 
Jer.  xxxi.  33  with  Heb.  x.  15,  16.  To  lie  to  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  to  lie  to  God.  Acts  v.  3,  4. 

(2.)  Divine  perfections  are  ascribed  to  him  :  Omnis- 
cience, 1  Cor.  ii.  10,  11;  omnipresence,  Ps.  exxxix.  7; 
omnipotence,  Luke  i.  35 ;  Rom.  viii.  11. 

(3.)  Divine  works  are  attributed  to  him :  Creation, 
Job  xxvi.  13;  Ps.  civ.  30;  miracles,  1  Cor.  xii.  9-11  ; 
regeneration,  John  iii.  6  ;  Titus  iii.  5. 

(4.)  Divine  worship  is  to  be  paid  to  him.  His  gra- 
cious influences  are  invoked  in  the  apostolical  benedic- 
tion. 2  Cor.  xiii.  4.  We  are  baptized  into  his  name. 
Blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost  is  never  forgiven. 
Matt.  xii.  31,  32. 

2d.  These  titles,  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  are 
not  the  names  of  the  same  pers  n  in  different  relations, 
but  of  different  persons. 

Since  there  is  but  one  indivisible  and  inalienable  spir- 
itual essence  which  is  common  to  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  and  since  they  have  in  common  one  infinite 
intelligence,  power,  will,  etc.,  when  we  say  they  are 
distinct  persons  we  do  not  mean  that  one  is  as  separate 
from  the  other  Ho  one  human  person  is  from  every  other. 
Their  mode  of  subsistence  in  the  one  substance  must 


GOD    AND    THE    HOLY   TRINITY.  87 

ever  continue  to  us  a  profound  mystery,  as  it  transcends 
all  analogy.  All  that  is  revealed  to  us  is,  that  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  stand  so  distinguished  and 
related  that,  1st.  They  use  mutually  the  personal  pro- 
nouns I,  thou,  he,  when  speaking  to  or  about  each 
other.  Thus  Christ  continually  addresses  the  Father, 
and  speaks  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 
"  And  I  will  pray  the  Father  and  he  will  give  you  an- 
other Comforter,"  John  xiv.  16;  "And  now,  O  Father, 
glorify  thou  me  with  thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  I 
had  with  thee  before  the  world  was,"  John  xvii.  5. 
Thus  Christ  speaks  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  "  I  will  send 
him;"  "He  will  testify  of  me;"  "  Whom  the  Father 
will  send  in  my  name,"  John  xiv.  26,  and  xv.  26.  2d. 
That  they  mutually  love  one  another,  act  upon  and 
through  one  another,  and  counsel  together.  The  Father 
sends  the  Son,  John  xvii.  6,  and  the  Father  and  Son 
send  the  Spirit,  Ps.  civ.  30;  the  Father  giveth  com- 
mandment to  the  Son,  John  x.  18 ;  the  Spirit  "  speaks 
not  of  himself" — "he  testifies  of"  and  "glorifies"  Christ. 
John  xvi.  13-15.  3d.  That  they  are  eternally  mutually 
related  as  Father  and  Son  and  Spirit.  That  is,  the 
Father  is  the  Father  of  the  Son,  and  the  Son  the  Son 
of  the  Father,  and  the  Spirit  the  Spirit  of  the  Father 
and  of  the  Son.  4th.  That  they  work  together  in  a 
perfectly  harmonious  economy  of  operations  upon  the 
creation — the  Father  creating  and  sitting  supreme  in 
the  general  administration;  the  Son  becoming  incarnate 
in  human  nature,  and,  as  the  theanthropos,  discharging 
the  functions  of  mediatorial  prophet,  priest  and  king ; 
the  Holy  Ghost  making  his  grace  omnipresent,  and  ap- 
plying it  to  the  souls  and  bodies  of  his   members:   the 


88  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

Father  the  absolute  origin  and  source  of  life  and  law ; 
the  Son  the  Revealer ;  the  Holy  Ghost  the  Executor. 

There  are  a  number  of  Scripture  passages  in  which 
all  the  three  persons  are  set  forth  as  distinct  and  yet 
as  divine:  Matt,  xxviii.  19;  2  Cor.  xiii.  14;  Matt.  iii. 
13-17;  John  xv.  26,  etc. ;  1  John  i.  7. 

3d.  These  three  divine  persons  are  distinguished  fron? 
one  another  by  certain  personal  properties,  and  are  re- 
vealed in  a  certain  order  of  subsistence  and  of  operation. 

The  "  attributes"  of  God  are  the  properties  of  the 
divine  essence,  and  therefore  common  to  each  of*  the 
three  persons,  who  are  "  the  same  in  substance,"  and 
therefore  "  equal  i  power  and  glory."  The  "  proper- 
ties" of  each  divine  person,  on  the  other  hand,  are  those 
peculiar  modes  of  personal  subsistence,  and  that  pecu- 
liar order  of  operation,  which  distinguishes  each  from 
the  other,  and  determines  the  relation  of  each  to  the 
other.  This  is  chiefly  expressed  to  us  by  the  personal 
names  by  which  they  are  revealed.  The  peculiar  per- 
sonal property  of  the  first  Person  is  expressed  by  the 
title  Father.  As  a  person  he  is  eternally  the  Father 
of  his  only  begotten  Son.  The  peculiar  personal  pro- 
perty of  the  second  Person  is  expressed  by  the  title  Son. 
As  a  person  he  is  eternally  the  only  begotten  Son  of  the 
Father,  and  hence  the  express  image  of  his  person,  and  the 
eternal  Word  in  the  beginning  with  God.  The  peculiar 
property  of  the  third  person  is  expressed  by  the  title 
Spirit.  This  cannot  express  his  essence,  because  his 
essence  is  also  the  essence  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
It  must  express  his  eternal  personal  relation  to  the 
other  divine  persons,  because  he  is  as  a  person  constantly 
designated  as  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Spirit  of 


GOD    AND    THE    HOLY    TRINITY.  89 

the  Son.  They  are  all  spoken  of  in  Scripture  in  a  con- 
stant order ;  the  Father  tirst,  the  Son  second,  the  Spirit 
third.  The  Father  sends  and  operates  through  both 
the  Son  and  Spirit.  The  Son  sends  and  operates 
through  the  Spirit.  Never  the  reverse  in  either  case. 
The  Son  is  sent  by,  acts  for  and  reveals  the  Father. 
The  Spirit  is  sent  by,  acts  for  and  reveals  both  the 
Father  and  the  Son.  The  persons  are  as  eternal  as  the 
essence,  equal  in  honour,  power  and  glory.  Three  Per- 
sons, they  are  one  God,  being  identical  in  essence  and 
divine  perfections.  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one."  John 
x.  30.  "  The  Father  is  in  me  and  I  in  him."  John  x. 
38.  "  He  that  hath  seen  the  Son,  hath  seen  the  Father." 
John  xiv.  9-11. 

The  most  ancient  and  universally  accepted  statement 
of  all  the  points  involved  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Creed  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  A.  D. 
325,  as  amended  by  the  Council  of  Constantinople, 
A.  D.  381,  and  is  given  in  full  in  the  first  Chapter  of 
the  Introduction  to  this  volume. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  propositions  are  taught  in  the  first  and  second  Sec- 
tions ? 

2.  To  whom  has  the  title  God  been  applied? 

3.  What  two  propositions  are  involved  in  the  affirmation  that 
there  is  but  one  living  and  true  God  ? 

4.  How  may  the  truth  that  there  is  but  one  God  be  proved? 

5.  How  may  the  indivisible  unity  of  that  one  God  be  proved  ? 

6.  How  may  it  be  proved  that  God  is  a  personal  spirit? 

7.  What  do  we  mean  when  we  say  that  God  is  a  spirit? 

8.  How  can  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  attribute  bodily  parts 
and  passions  to  God  be  explained? 


90  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

9.  How  may  it  be  proved  that  bodily  parts  and  passions  do  not 
belong  to  God. 

10.  What  is  the  distinction  between  the  absolute  and  the  rela- 
tive perfections  of  God  ? 

11.  What  is  meant  when  we  affirm  that  God  is  infinite? 

12.  What  is  the  difference  between  the  immensity  and  the  om- 
nipresence of  God  ? 

13.  In  what  sense  is  God  omnipresent? 

14.  In  what  different  ways  is  he  present  to  his  creatures  ? 

15.  How  does  the  eternity  of  God  differ  from  the  temporal 
existence  of  his  creatures  ? 

16.  What  is  involved  in  the  affirmation  that  he  is  eternal? 

17.  In  what  sense  is  God  unchangeable?  and  prove  that  he 
is  so. 

18.  What  two  principal  divisions  does  the  infinite  intelligence 
of  God  embrace  ? 

19.  How  does  God's  mode  of  knowing  differ  from  ours? 

20.  What  are  the  objects  embraced  by  God's  knowledge? 

21.  What  is  wisdom,  and  how  is  the  wisdom  of  God  exercised, 
and  in  what  departments  is  it  illustrated  ? 

22.  What  is  included  in  the  affirmation  that  God's  power  is 
infinite  ? 

23.  How  does  the  exercise  of  his  power  differ  from  ours? 

24.  What  are  the  limitations  of  God's  power?    And  why  can- 
not God  do  that  which  is  unwise  or  unrighteous  ? 

25.  Does  the  moral  character  of  God  include  inconsistent  ele- 
ments? 

26.  What  does  the  absolute  goodness  of  God  include  ? 

27.  How  can  it  be  proved  that  grace  is  based  on  sovereign 
will? 

28.  How  can  the  absolute  goodness  of  God  be  proved  ? 

29.  What  is  the  grand  end  which  that  goodness  proposes  to 
itself? 

30.  What  is  included  in  the  affirmation  that  God  is  absolutely 
true? 

31.  For  what  does  this  divine  attribute  lay  the  foundation  ? 

32.  What  is  the  distinction  between  the  absolute  and  relative 
justice  of  God  ? 


GOD    AND    THE    HOLY    TRINITY.  91 

33.  How  is  the  relative  justice  of  God  exercised  ? 

34.  Show  that  the  justice  of  God  is  an  immutable  principle  of 
his  nature? 

35.  Why  does  God  punish  sin  ? 

36.  State  the  proofs  of  the  above  answer. 

37.  What  is  meant  by  the  infinite  holiness  of  God? 

38.  What  is  included  in  the  absolute  sovereignty  of  God? 
Prove  that  he  possesses  that  attribute. 

39.  What  propositions  are  taught  in  Section  III.  ? 

40.  What  is  meant  by  the  term  "Trinity,"  and  from  what 
source  do  we  derive  our  knowledge  of  the  truths  expressed  by  it? 

41.  If  there  is  but  one  God,  and  if  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost  are  that  one  God,  what  relation  must  they  severally  sustain 
to  the  divine  essence  ? 

42.  State  the  proof  that  the  Son  is  the  true  God. 

43.  State  the  proof  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  true  God. 

44.  How  may  it  be  proved  that  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost 
are  distinct  Persons? 

45.  What  is  the  distinction  between  the  attributes  of  God  and 
the  personal  properties  of  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  ? 

46.  What  are  the  personal  properties  of  the  Father? 

47.  What  are  the  personal  properties  of  the  Son  ? 

48.  What  are  the  personal  properties  of  the  Holy  Ghost? 

49.  How  is  this  docjtrine  defined  in  the  Nicene  Creed? 


CHAPTER    III. 

of  god's  eternal  decree. 

Section  I. — God  from  all  eternity  did,  by  the  meet  wise  and 
holy  counsel  of  his  own  will,  freely  and  unchangeably  ordain 
whatsoever  comes  to  pass:1  yet  so  as  thereby  neither  is  God  the 
author  of  sin,2  nor  is  violence  offered  to  the  will  of  the  creatures, 
nor  is  the  liberty  or  contingency  of  second  causes  taken  away, 
but  rather  established.3 

Section  II. — Although  God  knows  whatsoever  may  or  can 
come  to  pass  upon  all  supposed  conditions,4  yet  hath  he  not 
decreed  anything  because  he  foresaw  it  as  future,  or  as  that  which 
would  come  to  pass  upon  such  conditions.5 

1  Eph.  i.  11;  Rom.  xi.  33;  Heb.  vi.  17;  Rom.  ix.  15,  18.— 2  James  i.  13, 
17;  1  John  i.  5.— 3  Acts  ii.  23;  Matt.  xvii.  12;  Acts  iv.  27,  28;  John  xix, 
11;  Prov.  xvi.  33.—*  Acts  xv.  18;  1  Sam.  xxiii.  11,  12;  Matt.  xi.  21,  23.— 
6  Rom.  ix.  11,  13,  16,  18. 

These  Sections  affirm  the  following  propositions : 

1st.  God  has  had  from  eternity  an  unchangeable  plan 
with  reference  to  his  creation. 

2d.  This  plan  comprehends  and  determines  all  things 
and  events  of  every  kind  that  come  to  pass. 

3d.  This  all-comprehensive  purpose  is  not,  as  a  whole 
nor  in  any  of  its  constituent  elements,  conditional.  It 
in  no  respect  depends  upon  his  foresight  of  events  not 
embraced  in  and  determined  by  his  purpose.  It  is  an 
absolutely  sovereign  purpose,  depending  only  on  "  the 
wise  and  holy  counsel  of  his  own  will." 

«2 


god's  eternal  decree.  93 

4th.  This  purpose  is,  in  relation  to  all  the  objects 
embraced  within  it,  certainly  efficacious. 

5th.  It  is  in  all  things  consistent  with  his  own  most 
wise,  benevolent  and  holy  nature. 

6th.  It  is  in  all  things  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
nature  and  mode  of  action  of  the  creatures  severally 
embraced  within  it. 

1st.  God  has  had  from  eternity  an  unchangeable  plan 
with  reference  to  his  creatures. 

As  an  infinitely  intelligent  Creator  and  providential 
Ruler,  God  must  have  had  a  definite  purpose  with 
reference  to  the  being  and  destination  of  all  that  he  has 
created,  comprehending  in  one  all-perfect  system  his 
chief  end  therein,  and  all  subordinate  ends  and  means 
in  reference  to  that  chief  end.  And  since  he  is  an 
eternal  and  unchangeable  being,  his  plan  must  have 
existed  in  all  its  elements,  perfect  and  unchangeable, 
from  eternity.  Since  he  is  an  infinite,  eternal,  unchange- 
able and  absolutely  wise,  powerful  and  sovereign  Per- 
son, his  purposes  must  partake  of  the  essential  attributes 
of  his  own  being.  And  since  God's  intelligence  is  abso- 
lutely perfect  and  his  plan  is  eternal,  since  his  ultimate 
end  is  revealed  to  be  the  single  one  of  his  own  glory, 
and  the  whole  work  of  creation  and  providence  is 
observed  to  form  one  system,  it  follows  that  his  plan  is 
also  single — one  all-comprehensive  intention,  providing 
for  all  the  means  and  conditions  as  well  as  the  ends 
selected. 

2d.  The  plan  of  God  comprehends  and  determines  all 
things  and  events  of  every  kind  that  come  to  pass. 

(1.)  This  is  rendered  certain  from  the  fact  that  all 
God's  works  of  creation  and   providence  constitute  one 


94  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

system.  No  event  is  isolated,  either  in  the  physical  or 
moral  world,  either  in  heaven  or  on  earth.  All  of 
God's  supernatural  revelations  and  every  advance  of 
human  science  conspire  to  make  this  truth  conspicu- 
ously luminous.  Hence  the  original  intention  which 
determines  one  event  must  also  determine  every  other 
event  related  to  it  as  cause,  condition  or  consequent, 
direct  and  indirect,  immediate  and  remote.  Hence,  the 
plan  which  determines  general  ends  must  also  determine 
even  the  minutest  element  comprehended  in  the  system 
of  which  those  ends  are  parts.  The  free  actions  of  free 
agents  constitute  an  eminently  important  and  effective 
element  in  the  system  of  things.  If  the  plan  of  God 
did  not  determine  events  of  this  class,  he  could  make 
nothing  certain,  and  his  government  of  the  world  would 
be  made  contingent  and  dependent,  and  all  his  purposes 
fallible  and  mutable. 

(2.)  The  Scriptures  expressly  declare  this  truth. 

(a.)  Of  the  whole  system  in  general.  He  "worketh 
all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will."  Eph.  i.  11. 

(b.)  Of  fortuitous  events.  Prov.  xvi.  33;  Matt.  x. 
29,  30. 

(c.)  Of  the  free  actions  of  men.  "  The  king's  heart 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord ;  as  rivers  of  water,  he  turn- 
eth  it  whithersoever  he  will."  Prov.  xxi.  1.  "  We  are 
his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good 
works,  which  God  hath  before  ordained  that  we  should 
walk  in  them."  Eph.  ii.  10.  "It  is  God  that  worketh 
in  us  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure."  Phil.  ii. 
13. 

(d.)  Of  the  sinful  actions  of  men.  "  Him,  being  de- 
livered by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge 


god's  eternal  decree.        95 

of  God,  ye  have  taken  and  by  wicked  hands  have  cruci- 
fied and  slain."  Acts  ii.  23.  "  For  of  a  truth  against 
thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom  thou  hast  anointed,  both 
Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles  and  the 
people  of  Israel,  were  gathered  together,  for  to  do  what- 
soever thy  hand  and  thy  counsel  determined  before  to 
be  done."  Acts  iv.  27,  28.  Compare  Gen.  xxxvii.  28 
with  Gen.  xlv.  7,  8 ;  Isa.  x.  5. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  purpose 
of  God  with  respect  to  the  sinful  acts  of  men  and  wicked 
angels  is  in  no  degree  to  cause  the  evil,  nor  to  approve 
it,  but  only  to  permit  the  wicked  agent  to  perform  it, 
and  then  to  overrule  it  for  his  own  most  wise  and  holy 
ends.  The  same  infinitely  perfect  and  self-consistent 
decree  ordains  the  moral  law  which  forbids  and  punishes 
all  sin,  and  at  the  same  time  permits  its  occurrence, 
limiting  and  determining  the  precise  channel  to  which 
it  shall  be  confined,  the  precise  end  to  which  it  shall  be 
directed,  and  overruling  its  consequences  for  good.  "  But 
as  for  you,  ye  thought  evil  against  me ;  but  God  meant 
it  unto  good,  to  bring  to  pass  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save 
much  people  alive."  Gen.  1.  20. 

3d.  This  all-comprehensive  purpose  is  not,  as  a  whole 
nor  in  any  of  its  constituent  elements,  conditional.  It 
in  no  respect  depends  upon  his  foresight  of  events  not 
embraced  in  and  determined  by  his  purpose.  It  is  abso- 
lutely sovereign,  depending  only  on  the  "  wise  and  holy 
counsel  of  his  own  will." 

A  very  obvious  distinction  must  always  be  kept  in 
mind  between  an  event  being  conditioned  on  other  events, 
and  the  decree  of  God  with  reference  to  that  event 
being  conditioned.     Calvinists  believe,  as  all  men  must, 


96  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

that  all  events  in  the  system  of  things  depend  upoo 
their  causes,  and  are  suspended  on  conditions.  That  is, 
if  a  man  does  not  sow  seed,  he  will  not  reap;  if  he  does 
sow,  and  all  the  favorable  climatic  influences  are  present, 
he  will  reap.  If  a  man  believes,  he  shall  be  saved;  if 
he  does  not  believe,  he  will  not  be  saved.  But  the  all- 
comprehensive  purpose  of  God  embraces  and  determines 
the  cause  and  the  conditions,  as  well  as  the  event  sus- 
pended upon  them.  The  decree,  instead  of  altering,  de- 
termines the  nature  of  events,  and  their  mutual  relations. 
It  makes  free  actions  free  in  relation  to  their  agents,  and 
contingent  events  contingent  in  relation  to  their  condi- 
tions,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  makes  the  entire  system 
of  events,  and  every  element  embraced  in  it,  certainly 
future.  An  absolute  decree  is  one  which,  while  it  may 
determine  many  conditional  events  by  determining  their 
conditions,  is  itself  suspended  on  no  condition.  A  con- 
ditional decree  is  one  which  determines  that  a  certain 
event  shall  happen  on  condition  that  some  other  unde- 
creed  event  happens,  upon  which  undecreed  event  the 
decree  itself,  as  well  as  tbe  event  decreed,  is  suspended. 

The  Confession  in  this  Section  teaches  that  all  the 
decrees  of  God  are  unconditional. 

All  who  believe  in  a  divine  government  agree  with 
Calvinists  that  the  decrees  of  God  relating  to  events 
produced  by  necessary  causes  are  unconditional.  The 
only  debate  relates  to  those  decrees  which  are  concerned 
with  the  free  actions  of  men  and  of  angels.  The 
Socinians  and  Rationalists  maintain  that  God  cannot 
certainly  foresee  free  actions,  because  from  their  very 
nature  they  are  uncertain  until  they  are  performed. 
Arminians  admit  that  he  certainly  foresees  them,  but 


god's  eternal  decree.        97 

deny  that  he  determines  them.  Calvinists  affirm  that 
he  foresees  them  to  be  certainly  future  because  he  has 
determined  them  to  be  so. 

The  truth  of  the  Calvinistic  view  is  proved — (1.) 
From  the  fact  that,  as  shown  above,  the  decrees  of  God 
determine  all  classes  of  events.  If  every  event  that 
comes  to  pass  is  foreordained,  it  is  evident  that  there  is 
nothing  left  undetermined  upon  which  the  decree  can 
be  conditioned. 

(2.)  Because  the  decrees  of  God  are  sovereign.  This 
is  evident,  (a)  because  God  is  the  eternal  and  absolute 
Creator  of  all  things.  All  creatures  exist,  and  are  what 
they  are,  and  possess  the  properties  peculiar  to  them, 
and  act  under  the  very  conditions  in  which  they  act, 
because  of  God's  plan.  (6.)  It  is  directly  affirmed  in 
Scripture.  Dan.  iv.  35;  Isa.  xl.  13,  14;  Rom.  ix.  15- 
18;  Eph.  i.  5. 

(3.)  God's  decree  includes  and  determines  the  means 
and  conditions  upon  which  events  depend,  as  well  at>  the 
events  themselves :  "According  as  he  has  chosen  us  in 
him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should 
be  holy."  Eph.  i.  4.  "  By  grace  ye  are  saved  through 
faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves:  it  is  the  gift  of  God." 
Eph  ii.  8.  "God  has  from  the  beginning  chosen  you 
to  salvation  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and 
belief  of  the  truth."  2  Thess.  ii.  13.  In  the  case  of 
Paul's  shipwreck.  God  first  promised  Paul  absolutely 
that  not  a  life  should  be  lost.  Acts  xxvii.  24.  But 
Paul  said,  verse  31 :  "  Except  these  men  abide  in  the 
ship,  ye  cannot  be  saved." 

(4.)  The  Scriptures  declare  that  the  salvation  of  in- 
dividuals is  conditional   upon  the  personal  act  of  faith, 


98  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

and  at  the  same  time  that  the  decree  of  God  with  regard 
to  the  salvation  of  individuals  rests  solely  upon  "  the 
counsel  of  his  own  will,"  "  his  own  good  pleasure." 
"  For  the  children  being  not  yet  born,  neither  having 
done  any  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose  of  God  accord- 
ing to  election  might  stand,  not  of  works,  but  of  him 
that  calleth,  etc."  Rom.  ix.  11.  "  Having  predestinated 
us  according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all 
things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will."  Eph.  i.  11  ; 
i.  5;  Matt.  xi.  25,  26. 

4th.  The  purpose  of  God  is,  with  reference  to  all  the 
objects  embraced  within  it,  certainly  efficacious. 

The  decree  of  God  is  merely  a  purpose  which  he  exe- 
cutes in  his  works  of  creation  and  providence.  When 
it  is  said  that  all  the  decrees  of  God  are  certainly  effica- 
cious, it  is  not  meant  that  they  are  the  proximate  causes 
of  events,  but  that  they  render,  under  the  subsequent 
economy  of  creation  and  providence,  every  event  em- 
braced in  them  absolutely  certain.  This  is  evident — (1) 
From  the  nature  of  God  as  an  infinitely  wise  and  power- 
ful person  and  absolute  sovereign. 

(2.)  From  the  fact  that  the  decrees  relate  to  all  events 
without  exception,  and  are  sovereign  and  unconditional. 

(3.)  The  Scriptures  declare,  with  reference  to  such 
events,  that  there  is  a  needs-be  that  they  should  happen 
as  it  was  determined.  Mart.  xvi.  21 ;  Luke  xxiv.  44 ; 
xxii.  22. 

5th.  This  purpose  must  in  all  things  be  perfectly  con- 
sistent with  his  own  most  wise,  benevolent  and  holy 
nature. 

This  is  a  self-evident  truth  from  the  nature  of  God 
as  an  eternal,  absolutely  perfect  And  unchangeable  b^ing. 


god's  eternal  decree.  99 

His  decrees  mast  be  absolutely  perfect  in  wisdom  and 
righteousness. 

The  problem  of  the  permission  of  sin  is  to  us  insol- 
uble, because  unexplained.  The  fact  is  certain,  the  rea- 
son beyond  discovery.  If  God  be  infinitely  wise  and 
powerful,  he  might  have  prevented  it.  It  is  evident 
that  it  is  consistent  with  absolute  righteousness  to  per- 
mit it  and  to  overrule  it.  The  Arminian  admits  that 
God  foresaw  that  sin  and  misery  would  certainly  eventu- 
ate upon  the  conditions  of  creation  he  established.  He 
is  therefore  as  unable  as  the  Calvinist  is  to  explain  why 
God,  notwithstanding  that  certain  knowledge,  did  not 
change  those  conditions. 

It  remains,  however,  certain  (1)  that  God  is  not  the 
cause  of  sin,  (a)  because  he  is  absolutely  holy ;  (6)  be- 
cause sin  is  in  its  essence  dvofiia  (violation  of  God's 
will) ;  (c)  because  man  as  a  free  agent  is  the  responsible 
cause  of  his  own  actions :  (2)  that  God  has  permitted 
sin  for  the  purpose  of  overruling  it  in  the  interests  of 
righteousness  and  benevolence,  the  highest  glory  of  God 
and  excellence  of  the  moral  creation. 

6th.  The  purpose  of  God  is  in  all  things  perfectly 
consistent  with  the  nature  and  the  mode  of  action  of  the 
creatures  severally  embraced  within  it. 

This  is  certain,  (1)  because  the  one  eternal,  self-con- 
sistent, all-comprehensive  purpose  of  God  at  the  same 
time  determines  the  nature  of  the  agent,  his  proper  mode 
of  action  and  each  action  that  shall  eventuate.  As  God's 
purpose  cannot  be  inconsistent  with  itself,  the  element 
of  it  determining  the  nature  of  the  agent  cannot  be  in- 
consistent with  the  element  of  it  determining  any  par- 
ticular action  of  the  agent. 


100  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

(2.)  Because  the  decrees  of  God  are  not  the  proximate 
causes  of  events ;  they  only  make  a  given  event  certainly 
future.  It  provides  that  free  agents  shall  be  free  agents, 
and  free  actions  free  actions,  and  that  a  given  free  agent 
shall  exist,  and  that  he  shall  freely  perform  a  certain 
free  action  under  certain  conditions. 

Now,  that  a  given  free  action  is  certainly  future,  is 
obviously  not  inconsistent  with  the  perfect  freedom  of 
the  agent  in  that  act:  (1.)  Because  all  admit  that  God 
certainly  foreknows  the  free  actions  of  free  agents,  and 
if  so,  they  must  be  certainly  future,  although  free.  (2.) 
God's  actions  are  certainly  holy,  though  free,  and  the 
same  is  true  of  all  glorified  spirits  in  heaven.  (3.)  The 
actions  of  the  devil,  and  finally  reprobate  men  and  an- 
gels, will  for  ever  be  certainly  wicked,  yet  free  and 
responsible. 

Section  III. — By  the  decree  of  G-od,  for  the  manifestation  of 
his  glory,  some  men  and  angels6  are  predestinated  unto  everlast- 
ing life,  and  others  foreordained  to  everlasting  death.7 

Section  IV. — These  angels  and  men,  thus  predestinated  and 
foreordained,  are  particularly  and  unchangeably  designed,  and 
their  number  is  so  certain  and  definite,  that  it  cannot  be  either 
increased  or  diminished.8 

Section  V. — Those  of  mankind  that  are  predestinated  unto 
life,  God,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  was  laid,  according 
to  his  eternal  and  immutable  purpose,  and  the  secret  counsel  and 
good  pleasure  of  his  will,  hath  chosen  in  Christ  unto  everlasting 
glory,9  out  of  his  mere  free  grace  and  love,  without  any  foresight 
of  faith  or  good  works,  or  perseverance  in  either  of  them,  or  any 
other  thing  in  the  creature,  as  conditions,  or  causes  moving  him 
thereunto  ;10  and  all  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace.11 

6  1  Tim.  v.  21;  Matt.  xxv.  41.— »  Rom.  ix.  22,  23,-  Bph.  i.  5,  6;  Prov. 
xvi.  4.— 82  Tim.  ii.  1?;  John  xiii.  18.— 9  Eph.  i.  4,  9,  11;  Rom.  viii.  30; 
2  Tim.  i.  9;  1  Thess  r.  9.— 10  Rom.  ix.  11,  13,  16;  Eph.  i.  4,  9.— "  Eph. 
i.  6,  12. 


god's  eternal  decree.  101 

The  preceding  Sections  having  affirmed  that  the  eter- 
nal, sovereign,  immutable,  unconditional  decree  of  God 
determines  all  events  of  every  class  that  come  to  pass, 
these  Sections  proceed  to  affirm,  by  way  of  specification, 
the  following  propositions: 

1st.  The  decree  of  God  determines  that,  out  of  the 
mass  of  fallen  humanity,  certain  individuals  shall  attain 
to  eternal  salvation,  and  that  the  rest  shall  be  left  to  be 
dealt  with  justly  for  their  sins. 

2d.  That  this  determination  is  unchangeable. 

3d.  That  it  is  not  conditioned  upon  foreseen  faith  or 
good  works  or  perseverance,  but  that  in  each  case  it 
rests  upon  sovereign  grace  and  personal  love  according 
to  the  secret  counsel  of  his  will. 

4th.  That  the  ultimate  end  or  motive  in  his  election 
is  the  manifestation  of  his  own  glory,  the  praise  of  his 
glorious  grace. 

1st.  The  decree  of  God  determines  that  out  of  the 
mass  of  fallen  humanity  certain  individuals  shall  attain 
to  eternal  salvation,  and  that  the  rest  shall  be  left  to  be 
dealt  with  justly  for  their  sins. 

The  Socinian  holds  that  the  free  acts  of  men,  being  in 
their  natu re"vm certain ,  cannot  be  foreknown  as  certainly 
future.  Since,  therefore,  God  does  not  foreknow  who  will 
repent  and  believe,  his  election  amounts  to  no  more  than 
his  general  purpose  to  save  all  believers  as  a  class. 

The  Arminian  holds  that  God,  foreseeing  from  all 
eternity  who  will  repent  and  believe,  elects  those  indi- 
viduals to  eternal  life  on  that  condition  of  faith  and 
repentance,  thus  certainly  foreknown. 

The  Calvinjst  holds  that  God  has  elected  certain  indi- 
viduals to  eternal  life,  and  all  the  means  and  conditions 


102  CONIESSION    OF    FAITH. 

thereof,  on  the  ground  of  his  sovereign  good  pleasure. 
He  chooses  them  to  faith  and  repentance,  and  not  be- 
cause of  their  faith  and  repentance.  That  God  does 
choose  individuals  to  eternal  life  is  certain.  (1.)  The 
subjects  are  always  spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  individ- 
uals:  "As  many  as  were  ordained  to  eternal  liie  be- 
lieved." Acts  xiii.  48  ;  2  Thess.  iii.  13;  Eph.  i.  4.  (2.) 
The  names  of  the  elect  are  said  to  be  "written  in  heaven," 
and  to  be  "  in  the  book  of  life."  Phil.  iv.  3 ;  Heb.  xii. 
23.  (3.)  The  blessings  to  which  men  are  elected  are 
such  as  pertain  to  individuals  not  to  communities,  and 
they  are  represented  as  elected  to  these  spiritual  qualifi- 
cations, and  not  because  they  belong  to  the  class  which 
possesses  them.  They  are  elected  "  to  salvation,"  "  to  the 
adoption  of  sons,"  "  to  be  holy  and  without  blame  before 
him  in  love." 

2d.  This  election  is  unchangeable.  This  is  self- 
evident. 

3d.  It  is  not  conditioned  upon  foreseen  faith  or  re- 
pentance, but  in  each  case  upon  sovereign  grace  and 
personal  love,  according  to  the  secret  counsel  of  his  will. 

(1.)  It  is  expressly  declared  not  to  rest  upon  works ; 
but  foreseen  faith  and  repentance  are  works.  Rom.  xi. 
4-7  ;  2  Tim.  i.  9. 

(2.)  Faith  and  repentance  are  expressly  said  to  be  the 
fruits  of  election,  and  consequently  cannot  be  its  condi- 
tions. They  are  also  declared  to  be  the  gifts  of  God,  and 
cannot  be,  therefore,  the  conditions  upon  which  he  sus- 
pends his  purpose.  Eph.  ii.  10;  i.  4;  1  Pet.  i.  2;  Eph.  ii.  8 ; 
Acts  v.  31 ;  1  Cor.  iv.  7.  "All  that  the  Father  giveth 
me  shall  come  to  me;  .  .  .  and  this  is  the  Father's  will, 
that  of  all  that  he  hath  given  me  I  should  lose  nothing." 


god's  eternal  decree.       103 

John  vi.  37,  39.  "  But  ye  believe  not,  because  ye  are 
not  my  sheep."  John  x.  26.  "And  as  many  as  were 
ordained  to  eternal  life  believed."  Acts  xiii.  48. 

(3.)  The  Scriptures  represent  men  by  nature  as  "dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,"  and  faith  and  repentance  as  the 
exercise  of  regenerated  souls,  and  regeneration  as  the 
work  of  God — a  "  new  birth,"  a  "  new  creation,"  a 
"  quickening  from  the  dead."  Faith  and  repentance, 
therefore,  must  be  conditioned  upon  God's  purpose,  and 
cannot  condition  it. 

(4.)  The  Scriptures  expressly  say  that  election  is  con- 
ditioned on  the  "  good  pleasure  of  God's  will."  "  Hav- 
ing predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of  children  by 
Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure 
of  his  will,  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace.  ...  In 
whom  we  have  obtained  an  inheritance,  being  predesti- 
nated according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all 
things  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will."  Eph. 
i.  5,  11 ;  Matt.  xi.  25,  26 ;  John  xv.  16,  19. 

(5.)  God  claims  the  right  of  sovereign,  unconditional 
election  as  his  prerogative.  "  Hath  not  the  potter  power 
over  the  clay  of  the  same  lump  to  make  one  vessel  to 
honour  and  another  to  dishonour?"  Rom.  ix.  4.  If  of 
the  same  lump,  the  difference  is  not  in  the  clay.  "  So, 
then,  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that  run- 
neth, but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy."  Rom.  ix.  16. 

4th.  The  ultimate  end  or  motive  of  God  in  election 
is  the  piaise  of  his  glorious  grace. 

This  is  expressly  asserted  in  Eph.  i.  15.  In  the 
Chapter  on  Creation  it  will  be  shown  that  the  final  end 
of  God  in  all  his  works,  a?  a  whole,  is  the  manifesta- 
tion of  his  own  glory.     If  it  be  the  final  end  of  the 


104  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

whole,  it  must  be  the  end  also  of  the  special  destination 
of  all  the  parts. 

Section  VI. — As  God  hath  appointed  the  elect  unto  glory,  so 
hath  he,  by  the  eternal  and  most  free  purpose  of  his  will,  foreor- 
dained all  the  means  thereunto.12  Wherefore  they  who  are  elected 
being  fallen  in  Adam,  are  redeemed  by  Christ;13  are  effectually 
called  unto  faith  in  Christ  by  his  Spirit  working  in  due  season ; 
are  justified,  adopted,  sanctified,14  and  kept  by  his  power  through 
faith  unto  salvation.15  Neither  are  any  other  redeemed  by  Christ, 
effectually  called,  justified,  adopted,  sanctified  and  saved,  but  the 
elect  only.16 

12  1  Pet.  i.  2;  Eph.  i.  4,  5;  ii.  10;  2  Thess.  ii.  13.— 13  1  Thess.  v.  9,  10; 
Tit.  ii.  14.— i*  Eom.  viii.  SO ;  Eph.  i.  5 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  13.— "  1  Pet.  i.  5.— 
ifi  John  xvii.  9;  Eom.  viii.  28;  John  vi.  64,  65;  viii.  47;  x.  26;  1  John 
ii.  19. 

This  section  affirms : 

1st.  That  although  the  decree  of  God  is  one  eternal, 
all  comprehensive  intention,  the  several  elements  em- 
braced within  it  necessarily  sustain  the  relation  to  one 
another  of  means  to  ends.  In  determining  the  ends  he 
intends  to  accomplish,  God  at  the  same  time  determines 
the  means  by  which  he  intends  to  accomplish  them. 
And  God's  purpose  with  respect  to  the  end  necessarily, 
in  the  logical  order,  takes  precedence  of  and  gives  direc- 
tion to  his  purpose  with  respect  to  the  means. 

2d.  That,  in  the  matter  of  the  redemption  of  men, 
the  end  which  God  determined  was  the  salvation  of 
certain  individuals,  called  "the  elect,"  and  that  he  ap- 
pointed, as  means  to  that  end,  redemption  by  Christ, 
effectual  calling,  justification,  adoption,  sanctification, 
perseverance  in  grace  unto  death. 

3d.  That  as  the  means  are  intended  to  effect  the  end, 
60  they  are  not  to  be  exercised  in  the  case  of  any  whose 


god's  eternal  decree.       105 

salvation  has  not  been  adopted  as  that  end.  None  but 
the  elect  are  redeemed  by  Christ,  or  effectually  called, 
or  justified,  or  adopted,  or  sanctified. 

1st.  That  the  purposes  of  God  do  sustain  the  relation 
to  one  another  of  means  to  ends  is  evident — (1.)  From 
the  fact  that  his  purposes  are  the  product  of  an  infinite 
intelligence,  the  very  office  of  which  is  to  co-ordinate  a 
great  system  of  means  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  great 
design.  (2.)  God  accomplishes  his  eternal  purposes  in 
his  works  of  creation  and  providence,  and  in  the  economy 
of  both  he  habitually  uses  systems  of  means  in  subordi- 
nation to  predetermined  ends.  (3.)  All  the  events  de- 
creed as  a  matter  of  fact  eventuate  in  the  relation  of 
means  in  subordination  to  ends.  They  must  therefore 
have  been  embraced  in  the  same  order  in  the  divine 
decree.  (4.)  God  explicitly  tells  us  that  he  determines 
one  thing  in  order  to  accomplish  another.  He  predesti- 
nates men  to  salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory 
of  his  grace.  2  Thess.  ii.  13 ;  Eph.  i.  6. 

2d.  That  the  gift  of  Christ  to  make  atonement  for 
sin,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  regenerate  and  sanctify, 
are  in  the  divine  intention  designed  as  means  to  accom- 
plish his  purpose  to  secure  the  salvation  of  the  elect, 
has  been  doubted  by  some  theologians,  but  is  explicitly 
affirmed  both  positively  and  negatively  in  this  Section 
of  the  Confession.  In  the  time  that  this  Confession 
was  written,  the  phrase  "to  redeem"  was  used  in  thu 
same  sense  in  which  we  now  use  the  phrase  "to  make 
atonement  for."  The  Confession  affirms,  first,  posi- 
tively, that  Christ  was  eternally  appointed  to  make 
atonement  as  a  means  of  executing  the  purpose  to  save 


106  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

the  elect;  and  second,  negatively,  that  he  has  made 
atonement  for  none  others. 

The  class  of  theologians  who  do  not  agree  with  the 
Confession  at  this  point,  view  the  purposes  of  God,  with 
respect  to  man's  salvation  and  the  gift  of  Christ  to  be  a 
Saviour,  as  sustaining  respectively  the  following  order: 
Oat  of  infinite  pity  and  universal  benevolence,  God 
determined  to  give  his  Son  to  die  for  the  redemption 
from  the  curse  of  the  law  of  all  mankind,  ruined  by  the 
fall ;  but,  foreseeing  that  if  left  to  themselves  all  men 
would  certainly  reject  Christ  and  be  lost,  God,  in  order 
to  carry  out  and  apply  his  plan  of  human  redemption, 
and  moved  by  a  special  love  to  certain  persons,  elected 
them  out  of  the  masa  of  mankind  to  be  recipients  of  the 
special  effectual  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  thus  to 
salvation.  The  doctrine  taught  in  the  Confession  and 
held  by  the  great  body  of  the  Reformed  churches  is, 
that  God,  moved  by  a  special  personal  love,  elected  cer- 
tain men  out  of  the  mass  of  the  fallen  race  to  salvation, 
and  in  order  to  accomplish  that  purpose  he  determined 
to  send  Christ  to  die  for  them  and  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
renew  and  sanctify  them. 

That  the  view  of  the  Confession  is  the  true  one  is 
plain — (1.)  From  the  very  statement  of  the  case.  The 
gift  of  Christ  to  die  for  the  elect  is  a  very  adequate 
means  to  accomplish  the  decree  of  their  salvation.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  decree  to  give  the  efficacious 
influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost  only  to  the  elect  is  a  very 
inadequate  means  of  accomplishing  the  purpose  of 
redeeming  all  men  by  the  sacrifice  of  Christ.  A  pur- 
pose to  save  all  and  a  purpose  to  save  only  some  could 
not  coexist  in  the  divine  mind. 


god's  eternal  decree.        107 

(2.)  All  the  purposes  of  God,  being  unchangeable, 
self-consistent  and  certainly  efficacious,  must  perfectly 
correspond  to  the  events  which  come  to  pass  in  time. 
He  must  have  predestinated  to  salvation  those  and 
those  only  who  are  as  a  matter  of  fact  saved  j  and  he 
must  have  intended  that  Christ  should  redeem  those 
and  those  only  who  are  redeemed.  God's  purpose  in 
the  gift  of  Christ  cannot  be  in  any  respect  in  vain. 

(3.)  Christ  says  explicitly,  "  I  lay  down  my  life  for 
my  sheep."  John  x.  15. 

3d.  None  but  the  elect  are  redeemed  by  Christ,  or 
effectually  called,  or  justified,  or  adopted,  or  sanctified. 

This  is  only  the  negative  statement  of  the  same  truth, 
designed  to  make  the  positive  affirmation  of  it  the  more 
explicit  and  emphatic. 

The  doctrine  as  to  the  design  of  God  in  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ  is  stated  again  in  Chapter  VIII.,  Section  viii. 
of  the  Confession,  and  will  be  more  appropriately  stated 
and  discussed  in  that  place. 

Section  VII. — The  rest  of  mankind,  God  was  pleased,  accord- 
ing to  the  unsearchable  counsel  of  his  own  will,  whereby  he  ex- 
tendeth  or  withholdeth  mercy  as  he  pleaseth,  for  the  glory  of  his 
sovereign  power  over  his  creatures,  to  pass  by,  and  to  ordain 
them  to  dishonour  and  wrath  for  their  sin,  to  the  praise  of  his 
glorious  justice.17 

W  Matt.  xi.  25,  20;  Rom.  ix.  17,  18,  21,  22;  2  Tim.  ii.  19,  20;  Jude  4; 
1  Pet.  ii.  8. 

This  Section  teaches  the  following  propositions: 

1st.  That  as  God   has  sovereignly  destinated  certain 

pei  sons,  called  the  elect,  through  grace  to  salvation,  so 

he  has  sovereignly  decreed  to  withhold  his  grace  from 

the  rest;  and  that  this  withholding  rests  upon  the  un- 


108  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

searchable  counsel  of  his  own  will,  and  is  for  the  glory 
of  his  sovereign  power. 

2d.  That  God  has  consequently  determined  to  treat 
all  those  left  in  their  sins  with  exact  justice  according 
to  their  own  deserts,  to  the  praise  of  his  justice,  which 
demands  the  punishment  of  all  unexpiated  sin. 

This  decree  of  reprobation,  as  it  is  called,  is  the  aspect 
which  God's  eternal  purpose  presents  in  its  relation  to 
that  portion  of  the  human  family  which  shall  be  finally 
condemned  for  their  sins. 

It  consists  of  two  elements:  (1.)  Negative,  inasmuch 
as  it  involves  a  determination  to  pass  over  these,  and  to 
refuse  to  elect  them  to  life.  (2.)  Positive,  inasmuch  as 
it  involves  a  determination  to  treat  them  on  the  princi- 
ples of  strict  justice  precisely  as  they  deserve.  In  its 
negative  aspect,  reprobation  is  simply  not  election,  and 
is  absolutely  sovereign,  resting  upon  his  good  pleasure 
alone,  since  those  passed  over  are  no  worse  than  those 
elected.  In  respect  to  its  positive  element,  reprobation 
is  not  in  the  least  sovereign,  but  purely  judicial,  be- 
cause God  has  determined  to  treat  the  reprobate  pre- 
cisely according  to  their  deserts  in  the  view  of  absolute 
justice.  Our  Standards  are  very  careful  to  guard  this 
point  explicitly.  This  Section  says  that  God  has  or- 
dained the  non-elect  "  to  dishonour  and  wrath  for 
their  sin,  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  justice."  The 
same  is  repeated  in  almost  identical  language  in  the 
answer  to  the  thirteenth  question  of  the  Larger  Cat- 
echism. 

This  doctrine,  instead  of  being  inconsistent  with  the 
principles  of  absolute  justice,  necessarily  follows  from 
the  application  of  those  principles  to  the  case  in  hand. 


god's  eternal  decree.       109 

(1.)  All  men  alike  are  "  by  nature  the  children  of 
wrath,"  and  justly  obnoxious  to  the  penalty  of  the  law 
antecedently  to  the  gift  of  Christ  to  be  their  Saviour. 
It  is  because  they  are  in  this  condition  that  vicarious 
satisfaction  of  divine  justice  was  absolutely  necessary  in 
order  to  the  salvation  of  any,  otherwise,  the  Apostle 
says,  "  Christ  is  dead  in  vain."  Hence  if  any  are  to 
be  saved,  justice  itself  demands  that  their  salvation  shall 
be  recognized  as  not  their  right,  but  a  sovereign  conces- 
sion on  the  part  of  God.  None  have  a  natural  right  to 
salvation.  And  the  salvation  of  one  cannot  give  a  right 
to  salvation  to  another.  (2.)  Salvation  is  declared  to  be 
in  its  very  essence  a  matter  of  grace,  and  if  of  grace,  the 
the  selection  of  its  subjects  is  inalienably  a  matter  of 
divine  discretion.  Lam.  iii.  22 ;  Rom.  iv.  4 ;  xi.  6 ; 
Eph.  i.  6,  7 ;  John  iii.  16  ;  1  John  iii.  16  ;  iv.  10. 

This  doctrine  as  above  stated  is  true,  (1)  because  it  is 
necessarily  involved  in  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion taught  in  the  preceding  Sections. 

(2.)  It  is  expressly  taught  in  Scripture:  "Therefore 
he  hath  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and  whom 
he  will  he  hardeneth."  Rom.  ix.  18 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  8 ;  Rev 
xiii.  8  ;  Jude  4. 

(3.)  God  asserts  the  right  involved  as  his  righteous 
prerogative :  "  Thou  wilt  say  then  unto  me,  Why  doth 
he  yet  find  fault  ?  Who  art  thou  that  repliest  against 
God  ?  Hath  not  the  potter  power  over  the  clay  of  the 
same  lump,  to  make  one  vessel  to  honour  and  another 
to  dishonour?  What  if  God,  willing  to  show  his  wrath, 
and  to  make  his  power  known,  endured  with  much  long 
suffering  the  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction :  and 
that  he  might  make  known  the  riches  of  his  glorjT  on 


110  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

the  vessels  of  mercy,  which  he  had  afore  prepared  unto 
glory."    Rom.  ix.  19-23. 

Section  VIII. — The  doctrine  of  this  high  mystery  of  predes- 
tination is  to  be  handled  with  special  prudence  and  care,18  that 
men  attending  the  will  of  God  revealed  in  his  wore*,  ind  yielding 
obedience  thereunto,  may,  from  the  certainty  of  their  effectual 
vocation,  be  assured  of  their  eternal  election.19  So  shall  this 
doctrine  afford  matter  of  praise,  reverence  and  admiration  oi 
God,20  and  of  humility,  diligence  and  abundant  consolation,  to  ah 
that  sincerely  obey  the  gospel.21 

18  Romans  ix.  20;  xi.  S3;  Deut.  xxix.  29.— 19  2  Pet.  i.  10.-2°  Eph.  i.  6; 
Rom.  xi.  33.— 21  Rom.  xi.  5,  6,  20 ;  2  Pet.  i.  10 ;  Rom.  viii.  33 ;  Luke  x.  20. 

This  Section  teaches  that  the  high  mystery  of  predes- 
tination is  to  be  handled  with  special  prudence  and  care. 
This  necessity  arises  from  the  fact  that  it  is  often  abused, 
and  that  its  proper  use  is  in  the  highest  degree  im- 
portant. 

The  principle  of  divine  sovereignty  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  grace  is  certainly  revealed  in  Scripture,  is  not 
difficult  of  comprehension,  and  is  of  great  practical  use 
to  convince  men  of  the  greatness  and  independence  of 
God,  of  the  certain  efficacy  of  his  grace  and  security  of 
his  promises,  and  of  their  own  sin  and  absolute  depend- 
ence. But  the  philosophy  of  the  relation  of  his  sov- 
ereign purpose  to  the  free  agency  of  the  creature,  and  to 
the  permission  of  moral  evil,  is  not  revealed  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  cannot  be  discovered  by  human  reason, 
and  therefore  ought  not  to  be  rashly  meddled  with. 
This  truth  ought  not,  moreover,  to  be  obtruded  out  of 
its  due  place  in  the  system,  which  includes  the  equally 
certain  truths  of  the  freedom  of  man  and  the  free  offers 
Df  the  gospel  to  all. 


Ill 

While  the  principle  of  sovereign  election  as  lying  at 
the  foundation  of  all  grace  is  thus  clearly  revealed,  the 
election  or  non-election  of  particular  persons  is  not  re- 
vealed in  the  Scriptures.  The  preceptive  and  not  the 
decretive  will  of  God  is  the  rule  of  human  duty.  Elec- 
tion is  first  with  God,  and  grace  consequent  upon  it. 
But  with  man  duty  and  grace  are  first,  and  the  inference 
of  personal  election  only  consequent  upon  the  possession 
of  grace.  The  command  to  repent  and  believe  is  ad- 
dressed to  all  men  indiscriminately,  and  the  obligation 
rests  equally  upon  all.  The  concern  of  the  inquirer  is 
simply  with  the  fact  that  the  grace  is  offered,  and  as- 
sured to  him  upon  condition  of  acceptance,  and  with 
his  duty  to  accept  and  improve  it.  Afterward  it  is  the 
great  privilege  of  the  believer  to  make  the  fact  of  his 
eternal  calling  and  election  sure,  by  adding  to  faith 
virtue,  and  to  virtue  knowledge,  etc.,  for  if  he  do  these 
things  he  shall  never  fall.  2  Pet.  i.  5-10. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  and  second 
Sections  ? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught  ? 

3.  What  is  the  third? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth  ? 

5.  What  is  the  fifth? 

6.  What  is  the  sixth  ? 

7.  How  can  it  be  shown  that  God  must  have  had  from  eternity 
a  definite  plan  in  his  works? 

8.  What  must  have  been  the  general  attributes  of  that  plan? 

9.  What  is  meant  when  we  say  the  decrees  of  Grod  are  one 
purpose  ? 

10.  Show  from  the  relation  in  which  all  things  stand  to  each 


112  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

other,  that  the  purposes  of  God  must  relate  to  and  determine  all 
events  of  every  kind  ? 

11.  Prove  the  same  from  Scripture. 

12.  What  relation  does  the  eternal  purpose  of  God  sustain  to 
the  sinful  acts  of  men  ? 

13.  What  is  the  difference  between  an  event  being  conditional, 
and  the  decree  of  God  with  reference  to  it  being  conditional  ? 

14.  What  is  an  unconditional,  and  what  a  conditional  decree? 

15.  With  respect  to  what  class  of  events  do  Arminians  con- 
tend that  God's  decrees  are  conditional? 

16.  Prove  that  none  of  the  purposes  of  God  are  conditional. 

17.  What  do  you  mean  when  you  say  that  all  the  decrees  of 
God  are  certainly  efficacious  ? 

18.  Prove  that  they  are  so. 

19.  Prove  that  all  the  purposes  of  God  must  be  consistent  with 
his  own  perfections. 

20.  Prove  that  God  cannot  be  the  author  of  sin. 

21.  Prove  that  the  decrees  of  God  are  not  inconsistent  with 
the  liberty  of  free  agents. 

22.  Show  that  the  certainty  of  a  free  act  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  liberty  of  the  agent  in  the  act. 

23.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  third,  fourth 
and  fifth  Sections  ? 

24.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

25.  What  is  they're?? 

26.  What  is  the  fourth  f 

27.  State  respectively  the  Socinian,  the  Arminian  and  the  Cal- 
vinistic  doctrines  as  to  the  election  of  individuals  to  salvation. 

28.  Show  from  Scripture  that  God  has  chosen  individuals,  not 
classes,  to  eternal  life. 

29.  Show  from  Scripture  th?     this  election  is  not  conditioned 
upon  the  foreseen  faith  and  rep      ance  of  the  person  elected. 

30.  Show  that  it  is  grounded       ne  upon  the  good  pleasure  of 
God. 

31.  What  is  God's  ultimate  end  in  election? 

32.  What  is  the  first  proposition  affirmed  in  the  sixth  Section? 

33.  What  is  the  second  proposition? 

34.  What  is  the  third? 


god's  eternal  decree.        113 

35.  How  can  you  prove  that  God  does  purpose  on<  thing  in 
order  to  another  thing? 

36.  What  according  to  this  Section  is  the  relation  which  God's 
purpose  to  give  Christ  sustains  to  his  purpose  to  secure  the  sal- 
vation of  the  elect? 

37.  State  the  two  different  views  which  have  been  entertained 
on  this  subject. 

38.  How  is  this  matter  stated  in  this  Section,  (1)  negatively,  (2V 
positively  ? 

39.  Show  that  the  order  of  God's  purposes  set  forth  in  thi? 
section  is  both  the  natural  one  and  the  true  one. 

40.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  seventh  Section? 

41.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

42.  State  the  negative  element  involved  in  God's  reprobation 
of  the  wicked. 

43.  State  the  positive  element  involved. 

44.  Show  that  the  Confession  and  Catechism  carefully  mark 
the  distinction. 

45.  Show  that  this  doctrine  is  eminently  just. 

46.  Show  that  it  is  true. 

47.  What  is  taught  in  the  eighth  Section? 

48.  Why  should  this  doctrine  be  carefully  handled  ? 

49.  What  are  the  practical  uses  of  it? 

50.  What  is  the  rule  of  human  duty  ? 

51.  What  is  the  great  concernment  of  the  religious  inquirer. 

52.  How  is  the  fact  of  a  man's  personal  election  to  be  ascer- 
tained ? 

6 


CHAPTER    IV. 

OF   CREATION. 

Section  L— It  pleased  G-od  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,1 
for  the  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  his  eternal  power,  wisdom 
and  goodness,2  in  the  beginning,  to  create,  or  make  of  nothing, 
the  world,  and  all  things  therein,  whether  visible  or  invisible,  in 
the  space  of  six  days,  and  all  very  good.3 

1  Heb.  i.  2;  John  i.  2,  3;  Gen.  i.  2;  Job  xxvi.  13;  xxxiii.  4.— *  Rom.  i. 
20;  Jer.  x.  12;  Ps.  civ.  24;  xxxiii.  5,  6.— s  Gen.  i.  1,  to  end;  Heb.  xi.  3; 
Col.  i.  16;  Acts  xvii.  24. 

Compare  with  this  Section,  Larger  Catechism  ques- 
tions 15  and  16. 

This  Section  teaches : 

1st.  That  neither  the  world  (the  visible  universe)  nor 
anything  therein  is  either,  as  to  substance  or  form,  self- 
existent  or  eternal. 

2d.  That  the  one  God,  who  is  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  in  the  beginning  created  the  elements  of  the  world 
out  of  nothing,  and  brought  them  to  their  present  form, 
and  that  the  particular  stages  of  this  work  which  are 
recorded  in  Genesis  were  accomplished  in  the  space  of 
six  days. 

3d.  That  when  finished  by  God  all  things  were  very 
good,  after  their  kind. 

4th.  That  the  design  of  God  in  creation  was  the  man- 
ifestation of  his  own  glory. 
114 


CREATION.  \  1 J 

There  is  a  very  obvious  distinction  between  the  sub- 
stances of  things  and  the  forms  into  which  those  sub- 
stances are  disposed.  In  our  experience  the  elementary 
substances  which  constitute  things  are  permanent,  as 
oxygen,  hydrogen  and  the  like,  while  the  organic  and 
inorganic  forms  in  which  they  are  combined  are  con- 
stantly changing.  That  personal  spirits  and  the  various 
forms  in  which  the  material  elements  of  the  universe 
are  disposed  are  not  self-existent  or  eternal  is  self-evi- 
dent, and  the  universality,  the  constancy  and  the  rapidity 
of  the  changes  of  the  latter  are  rendered  more  obvious 
and  certain  with  every  advance  of  science.  That  the 
elementary  substances  of  things  were  created  out  of 
nothing  was  never  believed  by  the  ancient  heathen 
philosophers,  but  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  Chris- 
tian theism.  This  is  proved  by  the  following  consider- 
ations : 

(1st.)  The  Scriptures  speak  of  a  time  when  the  world 
was  absolutely  nonexistent.  Christ  speaks  of  the  glory 
"  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was."  John 
xvii.  5,  24.  "  Before  thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and 
the  world,  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  thou  art 
God."  Ps.  xc.  2. 

(2d.)  The  Hebrew  word  translated  "  to  create,"  and 
used  by  Moses  to  reveal  the  fact  that  God  created  the 
world,  is  the  very  best  afforded  by  any  human  language 
anterior  to  revelation  to  express  the  idea  of  absolute 
making.  It  is  introduced  at  the  beginning  of  an  ac- 
count of  the  genesis  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth. 
In  the  beginning  —  in  the  absolute  beginning — God 
created  all  things  (heaven  and  earth).  After  that  there 
was  chaos,  and  subsequently  the  Spirit  of  God,  brood- 


116  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

ing  over  the  deep,  brought  the  ordered  world  into  being. 
The  creation  came  before  chaos,  as  chaos  before  the 
bringing  of  things  into  their  present  form.  Therefore 
the  substances  of  things  must  have  had  a  beginning  as 
well  as  their  present  forms. 

(3d.)  The  Scriptures  always  attribute  the  existence  of 
things  purely  to  the  "  will,"  "  word/'  "  breath"  of  God, 
and  never,  even  indirectly,  imply  the  presence  of  any 
other  element  or  condition  of  their  being,  such  as  pre- 
existing matter.  "  By  faith  we  understand  that  the 
worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things 
which  are  seen  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  ap- 
pear." Heb.  xi.  3 ;  Ps.  xxxiii.  6  ;  cxlviii.  5. 

(4th.)  If  God  be  not  the  creator  of  substance  ex  nihilo, 
as  well  as  the  former  of  worlds  and  of  things,  he  cannot 
be  absolutely  sovereign  in  his  decrees  or  in  his  works  of 
creation,  providence  or  grace.  On  every  hand  he  w6uld 
be  limited  and  conditioned  by  the  self-existent  qualities 
of  pre-existent  substance,  and  their  endless  consequences. 
But  the  Scriptures  always  represent  God  as  the  absolute 
sovereign  and  proprietor  of  all  things.  Rom.  xi.  36  ;  1 
Cor.  viii.  6  ;  Col.  i.  16 ;  Rev.  iv.  11 ;  Neh.  ix.  6. 

(5th.)  The  same  traces  of  designed  and  precalculated 
correspondences  may  be  clearly  observed  in  the  element- 
ary and  essential  properties  and  laws  of  matter  that  are 
observed  in  the  adjustments  of  matter  in  the  existing 
forms  of  the  world.  If  the  traces  of  design  observed 
in  the  existing  forms  of  the  world  prove  the  existence 
of  an  intelligent  former,  for  the  same  reason  the  traces 
of  design  in  the  elementary  constitution  of  matter  proves 
the  existence  of  an  intelligent  creator  of  those  elements 
out  of  nothing. 


CREATION.  117 

2d.  Hence  theologians  have  distinguished  between 
the  creatio  prima  or  first  creation  of  the  elementary 
substance  of  things  ex  uihilo,  and  the  creatio  secunda  or 
second  creation  or  combination  of  the  elements  and  the 
formation  of  things,  and  their  mutual  adjustments  in 
the  system  of  the  universe.  This  Section  attributes 
creation  in  both  of  these  senses  to  the  one  true  God, 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Scriptures  attribute  creation — (a.)  To  God  abso- 
lutely without  distinction  of  person.  Gen.  i.  1,  26.  (6.) 
To  the  Father.  1  Cor.  viii.  6.  (c.)  To  the  Father 
through  the  Son.  Heb.  i.  2.  (d.)  To  the  Father  through 
the  Spirit.  Ps.  civ.  30.  (e.)  To  the  Son.  John  i.  2,  3. 
(/.)  To  the  Spirit.  Gen.  i.  2 ;  Job  xxxiii.  4. 

This  Section,  using  the  precise  words  of '  Scripture, 
Ex.  xx.  11,  declares  that  God  performed  the  work  of 
creation  in  the  sense  of  formation  and  adjustment  of 
the  universe  in  its  present  order  u  in  the  space  of  six 
days."  Since  the  Confession  was  written  the  science  of 
geology  has  come  into  existence,  and  has  brought  to 
light  many  facts  before  unknown  as  to  the  various  con- 
ditions through  which  this  world,  and  probably  the 
stellar  universe,  have  passed  previously  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  present  order.  These  facts  remain  in  their 
general  character  unquestionable,  and  indicate  a  pro- 
cess of  divinely  regulated  development  consuming  vast 
periods  of  time.  In  order  to  adjust  the  conclusions  of 
that  science  with  the  inspired  record  found  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis,  some  suppose  that  the  first  verse 
relates  to  the  creation  of  the  elements  of  things  at  the 
absolute  beginning,  and  then,  after  a  vast  interval,  dur- 
ing vrhich  the  changes  discovered  by  science  took  place, 


118  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

the  second  and  subsequent  verses  narrate  how  God  in 
six  successive  days  reconstructed  and  prepared  the  world 
and  its  inhabitants  for  the  residence  of  man.  Others 
have  supposed  that  the  days  spoken  of  are  not  natural 
days,  but  eyries  of  vast  duration.  No  adjustment  thus 
far  suggested  has  been  found  to  remove  all  difficulty. 
The  facts  which  are  certain  are:  (1.)  The  record  in 
Genesis  has  been  given  by  divine  revelation,  and  there- 
fore is  infallibly  true.  (2.)  The  book  of  revelation 
and  the  book  of  nature  are  both  from  God,  and  will  be 
found,  when  both  are  adequately  interpreted,  to  coincide 
perfectly.  (3.)  The  facts  upon  which  the  science  of 
geology  is  based  are  as  yet  very  imperfectly  collected 
and  much  more  imperfectly  understood.  The  time  has 
not  come  yet  in  which  a  profitable  comparison  and 
adjustment  of  the  two  records  can  be  attempted.  (4.) 
The  record  in  Genesis,  brief  and  general  as  it  is,  was 
designed  and  is  admirably  adapted  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  an  intelligent  faith  in  Jehovah  as  the  absolute  creator 
and  the  immediate  former  and  providential  ruler  of  all 
things.  But  it  was  not  designed  either  to  prevent  or  to 
take  the  place  of  a  scientific  interpretation  of  all  exist- 
ing phenomena,  and  of  all  traces  of  the  past  history  of 
the  world  which  God  allows  men  to  discover.  Appa- 
rent discrepancies  in  established  truths  can  have  their 
ground  only  in  imperfect  knowledge.  God  requires  us 
both  to  believe  and  to  learn.  He  imposes  upon  us  at 
present  the  necessity  of  humility  and  patience. 

3d.  God  himself  pronounced  all  the  works  of  his 
hands  when  completed  very  good.  Gen.  i.  31.  This 
does  not  mean  that  finite  and  material  things  possessed 
an  absolute  perfection,  nor  even  that  they  possessed  the 


CREATION.  119 

highest  excellence  consistent  with  their  nature.  But  it 
means — (1.)  That  all  things  in  this  world  were  at  that 
time  excellent  according  to  their  respective  kinds — the 
human  souls  morally  excellent  after  the  law  of  morn1 
agents,  and  the  world  and  all  its  organized  inhabitants 
excellent  according  to  their  several  natures  and  rela- 
tions. (2.)  That  each  and  the  whole  was  perfectly  good 
with  reference  to  the  general  and  special  design  of  God 
in  their  creation. 

4th.  With  respect  to  the  final  end  of  God  in  the 
creation  of  the  universe  two  distinct  opinions  have  been 
entertained  by  theologians:  (1.)  That  God  proposed  for 
himself  as  his  ultimate  end  the  promotion  of  the  happi- 
ness, or  as  others  say  the  excellence,  of  his  creatures. 
(2.)  That  God  proposed  for  hin  -elf  the  manifestation  of 
his  own  glory. 

This  is  obviously  a  question  of  the  highest  import- 
ance. Since  the  chief  end  of  every  system  of  means  and 
agencies  must  govern  and  give  character  to  the  whole 
system,  so  our  view  of  the  chief  end  of  God  in  his 
works  must  give  character  to  all  our  views  as  to  his 
creative,  providential  and  gracious  dispensations.  Our 
Confession  very  explicitly  takes  the  position  that  the 
chief  end  of  God  in  his  eternal  purposes,  and  in  their 
temporal  execution  in  creation  and  providence  is  the 
manifestation  of  his  own  glory.  Chapter  iii.,  §§  3,  5,  7  ; 
iv.,  §  1  ;  v.,  §  1  ;  vi.,  §  1  ;  xxxiii.,  §  2 ;  Larger  Cate- 
chism, Qs.  12  and  18;  Shorter  Catechism,  Q.  7.  That 
this  opinion  is  true  is  proved — 

(1.)  The  Scriptures  explicitly  assert  that  this  is  the 
chief  end  of  God  in  creation,  Col.  i.  16  ;  Prov.  xvi.  4; 
and  of  things  as  created.  Rev.  iv.  11  ;  Rom.  xi.  36. 


120  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

(2.)  They  teach  that  the  same  is  the  chief  end  of  God 
in  his  eternal  decrees.  Eph.  i.  5,  6,  12. 

(3.)  Also  of  God's  providential  and  gracious  govern- 
ing and  disposing  of  his  creatures.  Rom.  ix.  17,  22,  23  > 
Eph.  iii.  10. 

(4.)  It  is  made  the  duty  of  all  moral  agents  to 
adopt  the  same  as  their  personal  ends  in  all  things. 
1  Cor.  x.  31;  1  Pet.  iv.  11. 

(5.)  The  manifestation  of  his  own  glory  is  intrin- 
sically the  highest  and  worthiest  end  that  God  could 
propose  to  himself. 

(6.)  The  highest  attainment  of  this  supreme  end  car- 
ries with  it  the  largest  possible  measure  of  good  to  the 
creature. 

(7.)  God  as  the  absolute  creator  and  sovereign  can- 
not have  the  final  ends  or  motives  of  his  action  exterior 
to  himself.  Otherwise  all  God's  actions  would  be  sub- 
ordinated to  the  finite  and  created  ends  he  had  adopted 
as  his  ultimate  objects. 

Section  II. — After  God  had  made  all  other  creatures,  he 
created  man,  male  and  female,4  with  reasonable  and  immortal 
souls,6  endued  with  knowledge,  righteousness  and  true  holiness, 
after  his  own  image,6  having  the  law  of  God  written  in  their 
hearts,7  and  power  to  fulfil  it  ;8  and  yet  under  a  possibility  of 
transgressing,  being  left  to  the  liberty  of  their  own  will,  which 
was  subject  unto  change.9  Besides  this  law  written  in  their 
hearts,  they  received  a  command  not  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil  ;10  which  while  they  kept,  they  were 
happy  in  their  communion  with  God,  and  had  dominion  over  the 
creatures.11 

*  Gen.  i.  27.— 5  Gen.  ii.  7  ;  Eccles.  xii.  7  ;  Luke  xxiii.  43  ;  Matt.  x.  28.— 
«  Gen.  i.  26  ;  Col.  iii.  10  ;  Eph.  iv.  24.-7  Rom.  ii.  uy  15.— 8  Eccles.  vii.  29.— 
»  Gen.  iii.  6  ;  Eccles.  vii.  29.—™  Gen.  ii.  17  ;  iii.  8-11,  23.—"  Gen.  i.  26,  28. 


CREATION.  121 

Compare  this  Section  with  chapter  vi.,  §§  1  and  3,  and 
L.  Cat.,  Q,  17,  and  S.  Cat.,  Q.  10. 

This  Section  teaches  : 

1st.  That,  last  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  earth,  man 
was  created  immediately  by  God. 

2d.  That  God  created  one  human  pair,  from  whom 
the  entire  human  race  has  descended  by  generation. 

3d.  That  God  created  men  in  his  own  image,  (a)  as 
possessing  reasonable  and  immortal  souls,  (6)  as  endued 
with  knowledge,  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  and 
holding  dominion  over  the  lower  creation. 

4th.  That  God  furnished  Adam  with  sufficient  know- 
ledge for  his  guidance,  a  law  written  on  his  heart  and 
a  special  external  revelation  of  his  will. 

5th.  That  while  creating  Adam  holy  and  capable  of 
obedience,  and  subjecting  him  to  a  special  test  of  that 
obedience  in  forbidding  him  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  God  also  left  him  capable 
of  falling. 

1st.  Man  was  created  immediately  by  God,  and  last 
of  the  creatures.  According  to  God's  plan  of  successive 
creation,  and  of  progressive  advance  in  complexity  and 
excellence  of  organization  and  endowment,  man's  true 
place  is  last  in  order  as  the  immediate  end  and  crown 
of  this  lower  creation.  The  scientific  advocates  of  the 
hypothesis  of  organic  development  have  denied  that 
man  was  created  immediately  by  God,  and  have  held 
that  the  higher  and  more  complex  living  organisms 
were  developed  gradually  and  by  successive  stages  from 
the  lower  and  more  simple  as  the  physical  condition  of 
the  world  became  gradually  favourable  to  their  existence, 
and   that  man  at  the  proper  time  came  last  of  all  from 


122  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

the  last  link  in  the  order  of  being  immediately  below 
him.  That  man  on  the  contrary  was  immediately 
created  by  God.  his  body  out  of  earthly  materials  pre- 
viously created  and  his  soul  out  of  nothing,  is  rendered 
certain  by  the  following  evidence: 

(1.)  The  hypothesis  of  development  is  a  mere  dream 
of  unsanctified  reason,  utterly  unsupported  by  facts. 
Not  one  single  individual  specimen  of  an  organized 
being  passing  in  transition  from  a  lower  species  to  a 
higher  has  been  found  among  the  myriads  of  existing 
species,  nor  among  the  fossil  remains  of  past  species 
preserved  in  the  record  of  the  rocks.  The  hypothesis  is 
also  rejected  by  the  highest  scientific  authorities,  as 
Hugh  Miller,  Agassiz,  Lyell,  Owen,  etc. 

(2.)  The  Scriptures  expressly  affirm  the  fact  of  man's 
immediate  creation.  Gen.  i.  26,  27  ;  ii.  7. 

(3.)  This  truth  is  rendered  obvious,  also,  by  the  im- 
mense distance  which  separates  man  from  the  nearest  of 
the  lower  animals;  from  the  incomparable  superiority 
of  man  in  kind  as  well  as  degree;  and  from  the  revealed 
and  experienced  fact  that  "  God  is  the  Father  of  our 
spirits,"  and  that  we  are  immortal,  "joint  heirs  with 
Christ." 

2d.  That  God  created  one  human  pair,  from  whom 
the  entire  race  in  all  its  varieties  has  descended  by 
generation,  is  a  fundamental  truth  of  the  Christian  reve- 
lation. 

One  class  of  scientists,  as  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  have 
concluded  from  the  positions  and  associations  in  which 
human  remains  have  been  found,  that  man  has  existed 
upon  the  earth  thousands  of  years  before  Adam,  who  is 
regarded  as  the  ancestor  only  of  a  particular  variety  of 


CREATION.  123 

the  race.  All  this  weighs  nothing  against  the  positive 
teaching  of  the  Scriptures,  since  the  facts  upon  which 
the  conclusion  is  based  are  not  all  certainly  substanti- 
ated, and  have  not  been  thoroughly  digested;  and  in  any 
event  can  prove  nothing  as  to  the  relation  of  Adam  to 
the  race,  but  only  that  he  was  created  longer  ago  than 
we  supposed. 

Another  class,  of  which  the  leader  is  Professor  Agassiz, 
maintain  that  the  differences  between  the  different  vari- 
eties of  the  human  race  are  so  great  and  so  persistent 
that  it  is  impossible  that  they  could  have  been  generated 
from  the  same  parents,  and  that  the  progenitors  of  each 
variety  were  created  separately,  each  in  their  appropriate 
geographical  centre.  This  conclusion  of  science  may  be 
fairly  balanced  by  the  extreme  opposite  one  above 
stated.  If,  in  view  of  all  the  facts  of  the  case,  it  is  pos- 
sible for  one  class  of  philosophers  to  conclude  that  men, 
monkeys  and  dugs,  etc.,  have  descended,  under  the  modi- 
fying influence  of  different  conditions,  from  like  progeni- 
tors, surely  it  is  folly  for  another  class  to  affirm  that  it 
is  impossible  that  all  the  varieties  of  men  have  sprung 
from  the,  same  parents.  That  the  doctrine  of  this  Sec- 
tion is  true  is  proved — 

(1.)  The  differences  between  the  varieties  of  the 
human  family  are  no  greater  than  have  been  effected  by 
differences  of  condition  and  training  among  individuals 
of  some  of  the  lower  orders  of  animals  of  known  com- 
mon descent. 

(2.)  The  human  family  form  one  and  not  different 
species.  («.)  Because  the  races  freely  intermix  and  pro- 
duce permanently  fertile  offspring,  (b.)  Because  their 
mental,  moral  and  spiritual  natures  are  identical. 


V24  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

(3.)  Archaeological,  historical  and  philological  inves- 
tigations all  indicate  a  common  origin  to  all  nations. 

(4.)  The  Scriptures  directly  assert  this  fact.  Acts 
xvii.  26 ;  Gen.  x.  And  the  scriptural  doctrines  of 
original  sin  and  of  redemption  presuppose  it  ab  a  fun- 
damental and  essential  condition.  1  Cor.  xv.  21,  22 ; 
Rom.  v.  12-19. 

3d.  God  created  man  in  his  own  image.  This  propo- 
sition includes  the  following  elements : 

(1.)  Man  was  created  like  God,  as  to  the  physical 
constitution  of  his  nature — a  rational,  moral,  free,  per- 
sonal spirit.  This  fact  is  the  essential  condition  upon 
which  our  ability  to  know  God,  as  well  as  our  capacity 
to  be  subjects  of  moral  government,  depends.  And  in 
this  respect  the  likeness  is  indestructible. 

(2.)  He  was  created  like  God  as  to  the  perfection  and 
integrity  of  his  nature.  This  includes  (a)  knowledge 
(Col.  iii.  10),  or  a  capacity  for  the  right  apprehension 
of  spiritual  things.  This  is  restored  when  the  sinner  is 
regenerated  in  the  grace  of  spiritual  illumination. 

(6.)  Righteousness  and  true  holiness  (Eph.  iv.  24),  the 
perfect  moral  condition  of  the  soul,  and  eminently  of 
the  character  of  the  governing  affections  and  will. 

(3.)  In  respect  to  the  dignity  and  authority  delegated 
to  him  as  the  head  of  this  department  of  creation.  Gen. 
i.  28. 

Pelagians  have  held  that  a  created  holiness  is  an 
absurdity;  that,  in  order  that  a  permanent  disposition 
or  habit  of  the  soul  should  have  a  moral  character,  it 
must  be  self-decided — i.  e.,  formed  by  a  previous  un- 
biassed choice  of  the  will  itself.  They  therefore  hold 
that  God  created  Adam  simply  a  moral  agent,  with  all 


CREATION.  1 25 

the  constitutional  faculties  prerequisite  for  moraj  action, 
and  perfectly  unbiassed  by  any  tendency  of  his  nature 
either  to  good  or  evil,  and  left  him  to  form  his  own 
moral  character — to  determine  his  own  tendencies  by  his 
own  volition.  But  this  view  is  not  true,  because — 
(1.)  It  is  absurd.  A  state  of  moral  indifference  in  an 
intelligent  adult  moral  agent  is  an  impossibility.  Such 
indifference  is  itself  sin.  It  is  of  the  essence  of  moral 
good  that  it  brings  the  will  and  all  the  affections  of  the 
soul  under  obligation. 

(2.)  If  God  did  not  endow  man  with  a  positive  moral 
character,  he  could  never  have  acquired  a  good  one. 
The  goodness  of  a  volition  arises  wholly  from  the  posi- 
tive goodness  of  the  disposition  or  motive  which  prompts 
it.  But  if  Adam  was  created  without  a  positive  holy 
disposition  of  soul,  his  first  volition  must  have  either 
been  sinful  from  defect  of  inherent  goodness,  or  at  best 
indifferent.  But  it  is  evident  that  neither  a  sinful  nor 
an  indifferent  volition  can  give  a  holy  moral  character 
to  whatever  dispositions  or  habits  may  be  consequent 
upon  it. 

(3.)  The  Scriptures  teach  that  Adam  was  created  "  in 
righteousness  and  true  holiness."  (a.)  God  proclaimed 
all  his  works  "  very  good."  But  the  "goodness"  of  a 
moral  agent  essentially  involves  a  holy  character. 

(b.)  Eccles.  vii.  29:  "God  made  man  upright,  but 
they  have  sought  out  many  inventions." 

(c.)  In  Genesis  it  is  declared  that  man  was  created  in 
"the  image  of  God."  In  Eph.  iv.  24  and  Col.  iii.  10, 
men  in  regeneration  are  declared  to  be  recreated  in  "the 
image  of  God."  B,egeneration  is  the  restoration  of 
human  nature  to  its  pristine  condition,  not  a  transmuta- 


126  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

tion  of  that  nature  into  a  new  form.  The  likeness  to 
God  which  was  lost  by  the  fall  must  therefore  be  the 
same  as  that  to  which  we  are  restored  in  the  new  birth. 
But  the  latter  is  said  to  consist  in  "  knowledge,  right- 
eousness and  true  holiness." 

(4.)  Christ  is  the  model  man  (1  Cor.  xv.  45,  47),  pro- 
duced by  immediate  divine  power  in  the  womo  of  the 
Virgin,  not  only  without  sin,  but  positively  predeter- 
mined to  holiness.  In  his  mother's  womb  he  was 
called  "that  holy  thing."  Luke  i.  35. 

4th.  That  God  should  have  furnished  Adam  with 
sufficient  knowledge  for  his  guidance  is  necessarily  im- 
plied in  the  fact  that  Adam  was  a  holy  moral  agent  and 
God  a  righteous  moral  governor.  Even  his  corrupt  and 
degenerate  descendants  are  declared  to  have  in  the  law 
written  upon  the  heart  a  light  sufficient  to  leave  them 
"  without  excuse."  Rom.  i.  20 ;  ii.  14,  15.  Adam 
moreover  enjoyed  special  and  direct  revelation  from 
God,  and  was  particularly  directed  as  to  the  divine  will 
with  respect  to  his  use  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  know- 
ledge of  good  and  evil,  concerning  which  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  speak  more  particularly  under  Chapter  vi., 
§  1,  and  vii.,  §  2. 

5th.  That  Adam,  although  created  holy  and  capable  of 
obedience,  was  at  the  same  time  capable  of  falling,  is 
evident  from  the  event.  This  appears  to  have  been  the 
moral  condition  in  which  both  angels  and  men  were 
created.  It  evidently  was  never  intended  to  be  the  per- 
manent condition  of  any  creature.  It  is  one,  also,  of  the 
special  elements  of  which  we  can  have  no  knowledge, 
either  from  experience  or  observation.  God,  angels  and 
saints  in  glory  are  free,  but  with  natures  certainly  and 


CREATION.  127 

infallibly  prompting  them  to  holiness.  Devils  and 
fallen  men  are  free,  with  natures  infallibly  prompting 
them  to  evil.  The  imperfectly  sanctified  Christian  is 
the  subject  of  two  conflicting  inherent  tendencies,  the 
law  in  the  members  and  the  law  of  the  Spirit ;  and  his 
only  security  is  that  he  is  "  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith  unto  salvation."  This  point  will  come 
up  again  under  Chapter  vi.,  §  5. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  Section? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught  ? 

3.  What  is  the  third? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth? 

5.  What  obvious  distinction  is  to  be  made  as  to  the  two  stages 
of  creation  ? 

6.  State  the  different  proofs  that  God  created  the  elements  of 
which  all  things  are  composed  out  of  nothing. 

7.  To  whom  do  the  Scriptures  refer  the  work  of  creation  ? 

8.  Show  that  the  Scriptures  refer  it  to  the  Father;  to  the  Son ; 
to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

9.  What  does  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  teach  as  to  the  time 
occupied  in  bringing  the  world  and  its  inhabitants  to  their  present 
form? 

10.  What  in  general  are  the  indications  of  the  science  of 
geology  on  the  subject? 

11.  What  adjustments  between  the  inspired  record  and  the  con- 
clusions of  that  science  have  been  proposed? 

]  2.  What  is  the  present  duty  of  Christians  in  respect  to  this 
question? 

13.  In  what  sense  were  all  things  pronounced  to  be  "very 
good  ?" 

14.  What  two  distinct  opinions  have  been  entertained  with 
respect  to  the  final  end  of  God  in  creation? 

15.  Show  the  great  importance  of  this  question. 


128  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

16.  What  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Confession  on  this  subject,  and 
In  what  passages  and  connections  is  it  taught? 

17.  Prove  that  God's  chief  end  in  all  his  purposes,  and  in  the 
execution  thereof,  is  his  own  glory. 

18.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  second  Section? 

19.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

20.  What  is  the  third  f 

21.  W h  at  is  th e  fourth  f 

22.  What  is  the  fifth? 

23.  What  different  opinions  have  been  entertained  as  to  the 
production  of  man  ? 

24.  State  the  evidence  that  man  was  immediately  created  by 
God. 

25.  What  different  opinions  have  been  entertained  as  to  the 
fact  of  the  propagation  of  the  whole  race  from  one  pair  ? 

26.  Refute  the  false  theories. 

27.  State  the  evidence  for  the  generic  unity  of  the  human  race 
and  its  descent  from  Adam  and  Eve. 

28.  Show  why  this  fact  is  of  fundamental  importance. 

29.  What  elements  are  included  in  the  proposition  that  "  God 
created  man  in  his  own  image?" 

30.  What  is  the  Pelagian  doctrine  as  to  the  moral  condition  in 
which  Adam  was  created  ? 

31.  Show  that  this  doctrine  involves  an  absurdity. 

32.  Prove  that  Adam  was  created  positively  holy. 

33.  Show  that  Adam  was  furnished  with  sufficient  knowledge 
for  his  guidance. 

34.  What  was  the  special  characteristic  in  Adam's  condition 
as  a  moral  agent?  And  how  did  his  condition  differ  from  that 
of  all  moral  agents  at  present  of  whose  case  we  have  any  know- 
ledge? 


CHAPTER    V. 


OF    PROVIDENCE. 


Section  I. — God,  the  great  Creator  of  all  things,  doth  uphold,1 
direct,  dispose  and  govern  all  creatures,  actions  and  things,3  from 
the  greatest  even  to  the  least,3  by  his  most  wise  and  holy  provi- 
dence,4 according  to  his  infallible  foreknowledge,5  and  the  free 
and  immutable  counsel  of  his  own  will,6  to  the  praise  of  the  glory 
of  his  wisdom,  power,  justice,  goodness  and  mercy.7 

1  Heb.  i.  3.— *  Dan.  iv.  34,  35;  Ps.  cxxxv.  6:  Acts  xvii.  25,  26,  28;  Job 
xxxviii.,  xxxix.,  xl.,  xli.— 3  Matt.  x.  29-31.— *  Prov.  xv.  3;  Ps.  civ.  24; 
cxlv.  17.— 5  Acts  xv.  IS;  Ps.  xciv.  8-11.— 6  Eph.  i.  11;  Ps.  xxxiii.  10,  11.— 
7  Isa.  lxiii.  14;  Epb.  iii.  10;  Rom.  ix.  17;  Gen.  xlv.  7;  Ps.  cxlv.  7. 

Since  the  eternal  and  immutable  purpose  of  God  has 
certainly  predetermined  whatsoever  comes  to  pass,  it 
follows  that  he  must  execute  his  own  purpose  not  only 
in  his  works  of  creation,  but  likewise  in  his  continual 
control  of  all  his  creatures  and  all  their  actions.  This 
Section  therefore  teaches — 

1st.  That  God  having  created  the  substances  of 
which  all  things  are  composed  out  of  nothing,  having 
endued  these  substances  with  their  respective  properties 
and  powers,  and  having  put  of  them  formed  all  things 
organic  and  inorganic,  and  endowed  them  severally  with 
their  respective  properties  and  faculties,  he  continues  to 
sustain  them  in  being  and  in  the  possession  and  exercise 
of  those  properties  during  the  entire  period  of  theii 
existence. 

v  120 


130  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

2d.  That  God  directs  all  the  actions  of  his  creature3 
according  to  their  respective  properties  and  relations. 

3d.  That  his  providential  control  extends  to  all  his 
creatures  and  all  their  actions  of  every  Kind. 

4th.  That  his  providential  control  is  in  all  respects 
the  consistent  execution  of  his  eternal,  immutable  and 
sovereign  purpose. 

5th.  That  the  final  end  of  his  providence  is  the  mani- 
festation of  his  own  glory. 

1st.  With  regard  to  the  question  how  God  is  concerned 
in  upholding  and  preserving  the  things  he  has  made, 
three  different  classes  of  opinion  have  prevailed  : 

(1.)  Deists  and  Rationalists  generally  regard  God  as 
sustaining  no  other  relation  to  his  wrorks  than  that  of 
the  first  of  a  series  of  causes  and  effects.  He  is  sup- 
posed to  touch  the  creation  only  at  its  commencement, 
and  having  given  to  things  a  permanent  independent 
being  exterior  to  himself,  he  leaves  them  to  the  unmodi- 
fied exercise  of  their  own  faculties. 

(2.)  Pantheists  regard  all  the  phenomena  of  the  uni- 
verse of  every  kind  as  merely  the  various  modes  of  one 
universal  absolute  substance.  The  substance  is  one,  the 
modes  many;  the  substance  abides,  the  modes  rapidly 
succeed  each  other;  the  substance  is  God,  the  modes 
we  call  things.  Some  true  Christian  theologians  have 
taken  a  view  of  the  relation  of  God  to  the  world  which 
comes  perilously  near,  if  it  does  not  coincide  with,  this 
great  pantheistic  heresy.  This  view  is  that  God's 
power  is  constantly  exerted  in  continually  creating  every 
individual  thing  again  and  again  every  fraction  of  dura- 
tion;  that  created  things  have  no  real  being  of  their 
own,  anc1  exist  only  as  thus  they  are  each   moment  the 


PROVIDENCE.  131 

product  of  creative  energy ;  and  hence  that  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  the  state  or  action  of  any  creature  one 
moment  of  time  is  not  its  state  or  action  the  previous 
moment,  but  the  direct  act  of  divine  creative  power. 

If  this  be  so,  it  is  plain  that  God  is  the  only  real 
agent  in  the  universe ;  that  he  is  the  immediate  cause 
of  all  things,  including  all  evil  passions  and  wicked 
thoughts  and  acts ;  that  consciousness  is  a  thorough 
delusion,  and  the  free  agency  and  moral  accountability 
of  man  vain  imaginations. 

(3.)  The  third  view  is  the  true  one,  and  it  stands 
intermediate  between  the  two  above  stated  extremes.  It 
may  be  stated  as  follows:  (a.)  God  gave  to  all  sub- 
stances, both  material  and  spiritual,  a  real  and  per- 
manent existence  as  entities. 

(6.)  They  really  possess  all  such  active  and  passive 
properties  as  God  has  severally  endued  them  with. 

(c.)  These  properties  have  a  real  and  not  merely  an 
apparent  efficiency  as  second  causes  in  producing  the 
effects  proper  to  them. 

(d.)  But  these  created  substances,  although  possessing 
a  real  existence  exterior  to  God,  and  exerting  real  effi- 
ciency as  causes,  are  not  self-existent;  that  is,  the  ground 
of  their  continued  existence  is  in  God  and  not  in  them. 
Though  not  to  be  confounded  with  God,  they  are  not  to 
be  separated  from  him,  but  "  in  him  live  and  move,  and 
have  all  their  being." 

(e.)  The  precise  nature  of  the  exercise  of  divine 
energy  whereby  God  interpenetrates  the  universe  with 
his  presence,  embraces  it  and  all  things  therein  in  his 
power  and  upholds  them  in  being,  is  not  revealed,  and 
of  course  is  indiscoverable. 


132  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

That  God  always  continues  to  exert  his  almighty 
power  in  upholding  in  being  and  in  the  possession  and  use 
of  their  endowments  all  things  he  has  made  is  proved — 

(1.)  From  the  fact  that  continued  dependence  is  in- 
separable from  the  idea  of  a  creature.  The  abiding 
cause  of  the  creature's  continued  existence  must  ever  be 
in  God,  as  it  is  not  in  itself. 

(2.)  The  relation  of  the  creation  to  God  cannot  be 
analogous  to  that  of  a  product  of  human  skill  to  its 
maker.  The  one  is  exterior  to  his  work.  The  intelli- 
gence and  the  power  of  the  other  is  eternally  omnipres- 
ent to  every  element  of  his  work. 

(3.)  A  sense  of  absolute  dependence  for  continued 
being,  power  and  blessedness  is  involved  in  the  religious 
consciousness  of  all  men. 

(4.)  It  is  explicitly  taught  in  Scripture :  "  By  him 
all  things  consist."  Col.  i.  17  ;  Heb.  i.  3.  "He  upholds 
all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power."  Heb.  i.  3.  "  In 
him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being."  Acts  xxvii. 
28.  "Oh  bless  our  God,  which  holdeth  our  soul  in  life." 
Ps.  lxvi.  8,  9;  lxiii.  8;  xxxvi.  6. 

2d.  That  God  governs  the  actions  of  his  creatures;  and 

3d.  That  his  government  extends  to  all  his  creatures 
and  all  their  actions,  is  proved : 

(1.)  By  the  fact  that  the  religious  nature  of  man  de- 
mands the  recognition  of  this  truth.  It  is  involved  in 
the  sense  of  dependence  and  of  subjection  to  a  moral 
government  which  is  involved  in  all  religious  feeling, 
and  is  recognized  in  all  religions. 

(2.)  It  is  evidenced  in  the  indications  of  intelligence 
everywhere  present  in  the  operations  of  external  nature. 
The  harmony,  the  due  proportion  and  the  exquisite  con- 


PROVIDENCE.  133 

currence  in  action  which  continue  among  so  many  ele- 
ments throughout  ceaseless  changes  prove  beyond  ques- 
tion the  presence  of  an  intelligence  embracing  all  and 
directing  each. 

(3.)  The  same  is  likewise  indicated  in  the  intelligent 
design  evidently  pursued  in  the  developments  of  human 
history  during  long  periods  and  throughout  vast  areas, 
and  embracing  myriads  of  agents.  "That  God  is  in 
history"  is  a  conclusion  of  just  science  as  well  as  a  dic- 
tate of  true  religion. 

(4.)  The  Scriptures  abound  in  prophesies  fulfilled  and- 
unfulfilled,  and  promises  and  threatenings.  Many  of 
these  are  not  mere  enunciations  of  general  principles, 
but  specific  declarations  of  purpose  with  reference  U 
his  treatment  of  individuals  conditioned  upon  their  con- 
duct. The  fulfilment  of  these  could  not  be  left  to  the 
ordinary  course  of  nature,  since  there  is  often  no  natural 
connection  between  what  is  threatened  or  promised  and 
the  conditions  on  which  they  are  suspended.  God  must 
therefore,  by  a  constant  providential  regulation  of  the 
system  of  things,  execute  his  own  word  to  his  creatures. 
(5.)  The  Scriptures  explicitly  declare  that  such  a 
providential  control  is  exerted  (a)  over  the  physical 
world  [a]  in  general.  Job  xxxvii.  6-13 ;  Ps.  civ.  14  ; 
cxxxv.  6,  7;  cxlvii.  15-18.  [6]  Individual  events  in 
the  natural  world,  however  trivial.  Matt.  x.  29.  (6.) 
Over  fortuitous  events.  Job  v.  6;  Prov.  xvi.  33.  (c.) 
Over  the  brute  creation.  Ps.  civ.  21-27;  cxlvii.  9.  (d.) 
Over  the  general  affairs  of  men.  Job  xii.  23;  Isa.  x.  12 
-15  ;  Dan.  ii.  21  ;  iv.  25.  (e.)  Over  the  circumstances 
of  individuals.  1  Sam.  ii.  6,  7,  8;  Prov.  xvi.  9; 
James  iv.  13-15.  (/.)  Over  the  free  actions  of  men.  Ex. 


f34  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

xii.  36  ;  Ps.  xxxiii.  14,  15 ;  Pro  v.  xix.  21  ;  xxi.  1 ;  Phil. 
ii.  13.  (g.)  Over  the  sinful  actions  of  men.  2  Sam.  xvi. 
10 ;  Ps.  Ixxvi.  10 ;  Acts  iv.  27,  28.  (h.)  Especially  all 
that  is  good  in  man,  in  principle  or  action,  is  attributed 
to  God's  constant  gracious  control.  Phil.  ii.  13;  iv.  13; 
2  Cor.  xii.  9,  10;  Eph.  ii.  10;  Ps.  cxix.  36;  Gal.  v. 
22-25. 

4th.  That  the  providential  control  of  all  things  by  God 
is  the  consistent  execution  in  time  of  his  eternal  and 
immutable  purpose  is  evident  (1)  from  the  statement  of 
the  case.  Since  God's  eternal  purpose  relates  to  and 
determines  all  that  conies  to  pass,  and  since  it  is  immu- 
table, his  providential  control  of  all  things  must  be  in 
execution  of  his  purpose.  And  since  his  purpose  is  in- 
finitely wise,  righteous  and  benevolent,  and  absolutely 
sovereign  (as  shown  above),  his  providential  execution 
of  the  decree  must  possess  the  same  characteristics.  (2.) 
The  same  is  explicitly  declared  in  Scripture :  "  He 
worketh  all  things  after  the  council  of  his  own  will." 
Eph.  i.  11  ;  Isa.  xxviii.  29  ;  Acts  xv.  18. 

5th.  It  is  evident  that  the  chief  design  of  God  in  his 
ecernal  purpose  and  in  his  works  of  creation  must  also 
be  his  chief  end  in  all  his  providential  dispensations. 
This  has  been  shown  above  to  be  the  manifestation  of 
his  own  glory.  It  is  also  directly  asserted  as  the  final 
end  of  his  providence.  Rom.  ix.  17     xi.  36. 

Section  II. — Although,  in  relation  to  the  foreknowledge  and 
decree  of  God,  the  first  cause,  all  things  come  to  pass  immutably 
and  infallibly  ;8  yet,  by  the  same  providence,  he  ordereth  them  to 
fall  out  according  to  the  nature  of  second  causes,  either  neces- 
sarily, freely  or  contingently.9 

Section  III.— God  in  his  ordinary  providence  maketh  use  of 


PROVIDENCE.  1 35 

means.10  yet  is  free  to  work  without,11  above,12  and  against  them,13 
at  his  pleasure. 

8  Acts  ii.  23.— 9  Gen.  viii.  22;  Jer.  xxxi.  35;  Ex.  xxi.  13;  Deut.  xix. 
6;  1  Kings  xxii.  28,  34;  Isa.  x.  6,  7.— 10  Acts  xxvii.  31,  44;  Isa.  lv.  10, 11; 
Hos.  ii.  21,  22.—"  Hos.  i.  7;  Matt.  iv.  4;  Job  xxxiv.  10.— 12  Rom.  iv.  10- 
21.— 13  2  Kings  vi.  6;  Dan.  iii.  27. 

These  Sections  teach  : 

1st.  That  as  the  execution  of  an  eternal  and  sovereign 
purpose,  God's,  providential  control  is  in  the  case  of 
every  being  and  event  certainly  efficacious. 

2d.  That  the  manner  in  which  he  controls  his  crea- 
tures and  their  actions,  and  effects  his  purposes  through 
them,  is  in  every  case  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
nature  of  the  creature  and  of  his  action. 

3d.  That  God  ordinarily  effects  his  purposes  through 
means ;  that  is,  through  the  agency  of  second  causes  sub- 
ject to  his  control. 

4th.  But  that  he  possesses,  and  at  times  at  his  sover- 
eign pleasure  exercises,  the  power  of  effecting  his  pur- 
pose immediately  by  the  direct  energy  of  his  power. 

1st.  That  the  providential  control  which  God  exer- 
cises over  all  his  creatures  and  all  their  actions  is 
always  certainly  efficacious,  plainly  follows :  (1.)  From 
his  own  infinite  wisdom  and  power.  (2.)  From  the  fact, 
before  proved,  that  his  eternal  purpose  determines  the 
occurrence  of  all  that  comes  to  pass,  and  is  immutable 
and  certainly  efficacious,  (3.)  The  fact  is  expressly  de- 
clared in  Scripture.  Job  xxiii.  13;  Ps.  xxxiii.  11 ;  Lam. 
ii.  17. 

2d.  That  the  manner  in  which  God  controls  his  crea- 
tures and  their  actions,  and  effects  his  purposes  through 
them,   is    in    every  case  perfectly  consistent    with    the 


136  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

nature  of  the  creature  and  of  his  mode  of  action,  is 
certain — 

(1.)  From  the  fact  that  God  executes  the  different  parts 
of  the  same  eternal,  self-consistent  purpose  in  his  works 
of  creation  and  providence.  It  is  in  the  execution  of 
the  same  unchangeable  plan  that  God  first  created  every 
thing,  endowed  it  with  its  properties,  determined  its 
mode  of  action  and  its  mutual  relations  to  all  othei 
things,  and  ever  afterward  continues  to  preserve  it  in 
the  possession  of  its  properties  and  to  guide  it  in  the 
exercise  of  them.  As  God  must  always  be  consistent 
to  his  own  plan,  so  his  mode  of  action  upon  the  crea* 
tures  whose  existence  and  constitution  has  been  deter- 
mined by  that  plan  must  always  be  consistent  with  their 
natures  and  mode  of  action  so  determined. 

(2.)  The  same  fact  is  proved  by  our  uniform  expe* 
rience  and  observation.  We  are  conscious  of  acting 
freely  according  to  the  law  of  our  constitution  as  free 
agents.  Even  in  the  writings  of  the  prophets  and  apos- 
tles, who  wrote  under  the  control  of  a  specific  divine 
influence,  rendering  even  their  selection  of  words  infal- 
libly accurate,  we  can  plainly  see  that  the  spontaneous 
exercise  of  the  faculties  of  the  writers  was  neither  super- 
seded nor  coerced.  Every  agent  in-  the  material  and 
brute  creations,  also,  is  observed  constantly  to  act,  under 
all  changing  conditions,  according  to  the  uniform  law 
of  its  nature. 

(3.)  In  perfect  consistency  with  this,  we  see  every- 
where in  the  material  world,  in  the  lives  of  individual 
men  and  in  all  human  history  plain  evidences  of  adjust- 
ments and  combinations  of  elements  and  agents  in  the 
order  of  contrivance  to  effect  purpose.     This  in  princi- 


PROVIDENCE.  137 

pie  is  analogous  to,  though  in  many  ways  infinitely 
more  perfect  than,  the  methods  by  which  man  controls 
natural  agents  to  effect  his  purpose.  If  the  laws  of 
nature  and  the  properties  of  things,  when  imperfectly 
understood,  can  be  brought  subject  to  the  providence 
of  man,  there  certainly  can  be  no  difficulty  in  believing 
that  they  are  infinitely  more  under  the  control  of  that 
God  who  not  only  understands  them  perfectly,  but  made 
them  originally  that  they  might  subserve  his  purpose. 
It  is  just  the  perfection  of  God's  adjustments  that  every 
event,  as  well  as  general  results,  are  determined  by  his 
intention.  Even  the  human  soul,  in  the  exercise  of  free 
agency,  acts  according  to  a  law  of  its  own,  excluding 
necessity,  but  not  excluding  certainty.  The  springs  of 
free  action  are  within  the  soul  itself.  And  yet,  as  these 
are  modified  without  interfering  with  the  liberty  of  the 
agent  by  the  influence  of  other  men,  they  certainly  can- 
not lie  beyond  the  control  of  the  infinite  intelligence 
who  created  the  soul  itself,  and  has  determined  all  the 
conditions  under  which  its  character  has  been  formed 
and  its  activities  exercised. 

3d.  That  God  ordinarily  effects  his  purposes  through 
means — that  is,  through  the  agency  of  second  causes  sub- 
ject to  his  control — is  also  evident — 

(1.)  From  the  fact  that  he  originally  gave  them  their 
being  and  properties,  and  adjusted  their  relations  in  the 
execution  of  these  very  purposes.  The  same  design  is 
pursued  in  creation  and  in  providence.  The  instru- 
ments furnished  and  the  methods  of  procedure  inaugu- 
rated in  creation  must,  therefore,  be  consistently  pursued 
in  the  subsequent  dispensations  of  providence. 

(2.)    Universal   experience  and  observation   teach  us 


138  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

the  same  fact.  In  ordinary  providence  and  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  a  supernatural  economy  of  grace,  in  the 
sphere  of  material  nature  and  in  the  moral  government 
of  intelligent  and  responsible  agents,  in  the  government 
of  the  finished  world  as  we  find  it  and  in  all  the  history 
of  the  formation  of  the  earth  and  the  worlds  in  the 
past,  God  universally  accomplishes  his  purposes  through 
the  agency  of  second  causes,  adjusted,  combined,  sup- 
ported and  rendered  efficient  by  his  omnipresent  Spirit 
for  this  very  end. 

(3.)  A  system  involving  an  established  order  of  na- 
ture, and  proceeding  in  wise  adaptation  of  means  to 
ends,  is  necessary  as  a  means  of  communication  between 
the  Creator  and  the  intelligent  creation,  and  to  accom- 
plish the  intellectual  and  moral  education  of  the  latter. 
Thus  only  can  the  divine  attributes  of  wisdom,  right- 
eousness or  goodness  be  exercised  or  manifested,  and 
thus  only  can  angel  or  man  understand  the  character, 
anticipate  the  will  or  intelligently  and  voluntarily  co- 
operate with  the  plan  of  God. 

4th.  That  God  possesses  the  power  of  effecting  his 
ends  immediately,  without  the  intervention  of  second 
causes,  is  self-evident,  and  that  he  at  times  at  his  sov- 
ereign pleasure  exercises  this  power,  is  a  matter  of  clear 
and  satisfactory  evidence. 

(1.)  Since  God  created  all  second  causes  and  endowed 
them  with  their  properties  and  continues  to  uphold  them 
in  being,  that  they  might  be  the  instruments  of  his  will, 
all  their  efficiency  is  derived  from  him,  and  he  must 
be  able  to  do  directly  without  them  what  he  does 
with  them,  and  limit,  modify  or  supersede  them  a*  hia 
pleasure. 


PROVIDENCE.  139 

(2.)  The  power  f  God  does  indeed  work  in  all  the 
ordinary  processes  of  nature,  and  his  will  is  expressed 
in  what  is  called  natural  law.  But  it  does  not  follow 
that  his  whole  power  is  exhausted  in  those  processes, 
nor  his  whole  will  expressed  in  those  laws.  God  re- 
mains infinitely  greater  than  his  works,  in  the  execution 
of  his  eternal  immutable  purposes  using  the  system  of 
second  causes  as  his  constant  instrument  after  its  kind, 
and  meanwhile  manifesting  his  transcendent  preroga- 
tives and  powers  by  the  free  exercises  of  his  energies  and 
utterances  of  his  will. 

(3.)  Occasional  direct  exercises  of  God's  power  in  con- 
nection with  a  general  system  of  means  and  laws  appears 
to  be  necessary  not  only  "  in  the  beginning"  to  create 
second  causes  and  inaugurate  their  agency,  but  also  sub- 
sequently in  order  to  make  to  the  subjects  of  his  moral 
government  the  revelation  of  his  free  personality,  and  of 
his  immediate  interest  in  their  affairs.  At  any  rate 
such  occasional  direct  action  and  revelation  is  certainly 
necessary  for  the  education  of  such  beings  as  man  is  in 
his  present  estate.  It  has  been  objected  that  miracles, 
or  direct  acts  of  divine  power,  interfering  with  the 
natural  action  of  second  causes,  is  inconsistent  with  the 
infinite  perfections  of  God,  since  it  is  claimed  that  they 
indicate  either  a  vacillation  of  purpose  upon  his  part, 
or  some  insufficiency  in  his  creation  to  effect  completely 
the  ends  he  originally  intended  it  to  accomplish.  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  eternal  and 
immutable  plan  of  God  comprehended  the  miracle  from 
the  beginning  as  well  as  the  ordinary  course  of  nature. 
A  miracle,  although  effected  by  divine  power  without 
means,  is  itself  a  means  to  an  end  and  part  of  a  plan, 


140  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

All  natural  law  has  its  birth  in  the  divine  reason,  and 
is  an  expression  of  will  to  effect  a  purpose.*  In  this 
highest,  all-comprehensive  sense  of  the  word,  miracles 
also  are  according  to  law — they  are  fixed  in  their  occur- 
rence by  God's  eternal  plan,  and  they  serve  definite  ends 
as  his  means  of  communicating  with  and  educating 
finite  spirits.  They  are  in  no  proper  sense  a  violation 
of  the  order  of  nature,  but  only  the  occasional  and  eter- 
nally pre-calculated  interpolation  of  a  new  power,  the 
immediate  energy  of  the  divine  will.  The  order  of 
nature  is  only  an  instrument  of  the  divine  will,  and  an 
instrument  used  subserviently  to  that  higher  moral  gov- 
ernment in  the  interests  of  which  miracles  are  wrought. 
Thus  the  order  of  nature  and  miracles,  instead  of  being 
in  conflict,  are  the  intimately  correlated  elements  of 
one  comprehensive  system. 

Section  IV. — The  almighty  power,  unsearchable  wisdom  and 
infinite  goodness  of  God,  so  far  manifest  themselves  in  his  provi- 
dence, that  it  extendeth  itself  even  to  the  first  fall,  and  all  other 
sins  of  angels  and  men,14  and  that  not  by  a  bare  permission,15  but 
such  as  hath  joined  with  it  a  most  wise  and  powerful  bounding,18 
and  otherwise  ordering  and  governing  of  them,  in  a  manifold 
dispensation,  to  his  own  holy  ends;17  yet  so  as  the  sinfulness 
thereof  proceedeth  only  from  the  creature,  and  not  from  God ; 
who  being  most  holy  and  righteous,  neither  is  nor  can  be  the 
author  or  approver  of  sin.18 

14  Rom.  xi.  32-34;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1  ;  1  Chron.  xxi.  1 ;  1  Kings  xxii.  22, 
23  ;  1  Chron.  x.  4,  13,  14  ;  2  Sam.  xvi.  10 ;  Acts  ii.  23;  iv.  27,  28.— "  Acts 
xiv.  16.— 16  ps.  iSXvi.  10;  2  Kings  xix.  28.—"  Gen.  i.  20;  Isa.  x.  6,  7, 
12.— is  James  i.  13,  14,  17;  1  John  ii.  16;  Ps.  1.  21. 

This  Section  makes  no  attempt  to  explain  the  nature 
of  those  providential   actions  of  God   which   are  con- 
*  "Reign  of  Law,"  by  Duke  of  Argylfc,  chapter  ii. 


PROVIDENCE.  141 

rerned  in  the  origin  of  sin  in  the  moral  un;  verse,  and  in 
the  control  of  the  sinful  actions  of  his  creatures  in  the 
execution  of  his  purposes.  It  simply  states  the  import- 
ant facts  with  respect  to  the  relation  of  his  providence 
to  the  sins  of  his  creatures  which  are  revealed  in  Scrip- 
ture. These  points  are:  1st.  God  not  only  permits  sin- 
ful acts,  but  he  directs  and  controls  them  to  the  deter- 
mination of  his  own  purposes. 

2d.  Yet  the  sinfulness  of  these  actions  is  only  from 
the  sinning  agent,  and  God  in  no  case  is  either  the 
author  or  approver  of  sin. 

1st.  Sinful  actions,  like  all  others,  are  declared  in 
Scripture  to  occur  only  by  God's  permission,  and 
according  to  his  purpose,  so  that  what  men  wickedly  do 
God  is  said  to  ordain.  Gen.  xlv.  4,  5;  Ex.  vii.  13; 
xiv.  17  ;  Acts  ii.  23 ;  iii.  18  ;  iv.  27,  28.  And  he  con- 
stantly restrains  and  controls  men  in  their  sins.  Ps. 
lxxvi.  10;  2  Kings  xix.  28;  Isa.  x.  15;  and  overrules 
their  sins  for  good.  Acts  iii.  13 ;  Gen.  1.  20. 

2d.  The  providence  of  God,  instead  of  causing  sin  or 
approving  it,  is  constantly  concerned  in  forbidding  it  by 
positive  law,  in  discouraging  it  by  threatenings  and  actual 
punishments,  in  restraining  it  and  in  overruling  it 
against  its  own  nature  to  good. 

Sfc:tton  V. — The  most  wise,  righteous  and  gracious  God, 
doth  oftentimes  leave  for  a  season  his  own  children  to  manifold 
temptations  and  the  corruption  of  their  own  hearts,  to  chastise 
them  for  their  former  sins,  or  to  discover  unto  them  the  hidden 
strength  of  corruption  and  deceitfulness  of  their  hearts,  that 
they  may  be  humbled  ;19  and  to  raise  them  to  a  more  close  and 
constant  dependence  for  their  support  upon  himself,  and  to  make 
them  more  watchful  against  all  future  occasions  of  sin,  and  for 
sundry  other  just  and  holy  ends.20 


142  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

Section  VI. — As  for  those  wicked  and  ungodly  men  whom 
God,  as  a  righteous  judge,  for  former  sins  doth  blind  and 
harden,*21  from  them  he  not  only  withholdeth  his  grace,  whereby 
they  might  have  been  enlightened  in  their  understandings  and 
wrought  upon  in  their  hearts,"2  but  sometimes  also  withdraweth 
the  gifts  which  they  had,23  and  exposeth  them  to  such  objects  as 
their  corruption  makes  occasion  of  sin,24  and  withal,  gives  them 
over  to  their  own  lusts,  the  temptations  of  the  world  and  the 
power  of  Satan  ;25  whereby  it  comes  to  pass  that  they  harden 
themselves,  even  under  those  means  which  God  useth  for  the 
softening  of  others.26 

Section  VII.  —As  the  providence  of  God  doth,  in  general, 
reach  to  all  creatures ;  so  after  a  most  special  manner,  it  taketh 
care  of  his  Church  and  disposeth  all  things  to  the  good  thereof.27 

19  2  Chron.  xxxii.  25,  26,  31 ;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1.— 20  2  Cor.  xii.  7-9  ;  Ps. 
Ixxiii.;  lxxvii.  1,  10,  12;  Mark  xiv.  66,  to  end;  John  xxi.  15,  17. — 2l  Rom. 
i.  24,  26,  28 ;  xi.  7,  S.— 22  Deut.  xxix.  4*!— 23  Matt.  xiii.  12;  xxv.  29.-2*  Deut. 
ii.  30 ;  2  Kings  viii.  12,  13.— ^  Ps.  lxxxi.  11,  12 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  10-12.— ™  Ex. 
vii.  3;  viii.  15,  32;  2  Cor.  ii.  15,  16;  Isa.  viii.  14;  1  Pet.  ii.  7,8;  Isa.  vi 
9,  10;  Acts  xxviii.  26,  27.— "^  Amos  ix.  S,  9;  Rom.  viii.  28. 

We  have  seen  that  the  providential  government  of 
God,  as  the  execution  through  time  of  his  eternal  and 
immutable  purpose,  forms  one  connected  system,  and 
comprehends  all  created  things  and  all  their  actions. 
In  perfect  consistency  with  this,  these  Sections  proceed 
to  teach — 

1st.  That  the  general  providence  of  God,  embracing 
and  dealing  with  every  creature  according  to  its  nature, 
consequently,  although  one  system,  embraces  several 
subordinate  systems  intimately  related  as  parts  of  one 
whole,  yet  also  distinct  in  their  respective  methods  of 
administration  and  in  the  immediate  ends  designed. 
The  principal  of  these  are  the  providence  of  God  over 
the  material  universe;  the  general  moral  government  of 
God  over  the  intelligent  universe;  the  moral  govern- 


PEOVIDENCE.  143 

ment  of  God  over  the  human  family  in  general  in  this 
world ;  and  the  special  gracious  dispensation  of  God's 
providence  toward  his  Church. 

2d.  These  Sections  teach  also  that  there  is  a  relation 
of  subordination  subsisting  between  these  several  sys- 
tems of  providence  as  means  to  ends  in  the  wider 
system  which  comprehends  them  all.  Thus  the  provi- 
dential government  of  the  material  universe  is  subord- 
inate as  a  means  to  an  end  to  the  moral  government 
which  God  exercises  over  his  intelligent  creatures,  for 
whose  residence,  instruction  and  development  the  physi- 
cal universe  was  created.  Thus  also  the  providential 
government  of  God  over  mankind  in  general  is  sub- 
ordinate as  a  means  to  an  end  to  his  gracious  providence 
toward  his  Church,  whereby  he  gathers  it  out  of  every 
people  and  nation,  and  makes  all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  those  who  are  called  according  to  his  pur- 
pose (Rom.  viii.  28),  and  of  course  for  the  highest 
development  and  glory  of  the  whole  body.  The  history 
of  redemption  through  all  its  dispensations,  Patriarchal, 
Abrahamic,  Mosaic  and  Christian,  is  the  key  to  the 
philosophy  of  human  history  in  general.  The  race  is 
preserved,  continents  and  islands  are  settled  with  inhabi- 
tants, nations  are  elevated  to  empire,  philosophy  and 
the  practical  arts,  civilization  and  liberty  are  advanced, 
«iiat  the  Church,  the  Lamb's  bride,  may  be  perfected  in 
all  her  members  and  adorned  for  her  Husband. 

3d.  The  moral  government  of  God  over  all  men,  and 
especially  his  government  of  his  Church,  includes  also, 
besides  an  external  providence  ordering  the  outward 
circumstances  of  individuals,  an  internal  spiritual  provi- 
dence, consisting  of  the  influences  of  his  Spirit   upon 


144  •      CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

their  hearts.  As  u  common  grace,"  this  spiritual  in- 
fluence extends  to  all  men  without  exception,  though  in 
various  degrees  of  power,  restraining  the  corruption  of 
their  nature,  and  impressing  their  hearts  and  consciences 
with  the  truths  revealed  in  the  light  of  nature  or  of 
revelation,  and  it  is  either  exercised  or  judicially  with- 
held by  God  at  his  sovereign  pleasure.  As  "efficacious" 
and  "saving  grace,"  this  spiritual  influence  extends  only 
to  the  elect,  is  exerted  upon  them  at  such  times  and  in 
such  degrees  as  God  has  determined  from  the  beginning. 

4th.  Hence  in  the  way  of  discipline  for  their  own 
good,  to  mortify  their  sins  and  to  strengthen  their 
graces,  God  does  often  wisely  and  graciously,  though 
never  finally,  for  a  season  and  to  a  degree,  withdraw  his 
spiritual  influences  from  his  own  children,  and  "  leave 
them  to  the  manifold  temptations  and  corruptions  of 
their  own  hearts." 

5th.  Hence  also  God  often,  as  a  just  punishment  of 
their  sins,  judicially  withdraws  the  restraints  of  his 
Spirit,  and  consequently  whatever  superficial  gifts  his 
presence  may  have  conferred,  from  ungodly  men,  and 
thus  leaves  them  to  the  influence  of  temptations,  the 
unrestrained  control  of  their  lusts  and  the  power  of 
Satan.  And  hence  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  truths  of  the 
gospel  and  the  ordinances  of  the  Church,  which  are  a 
savour  of  life  unto  them  to  whom  they  are  graciously 
blessed,  become  a  savour  of  death  and  of  increased  con- 
demnation unto  them  who  for  their  sins  have  been  left 
to  themselves. 


PROVIDENCE.  145 

QUESTIONS. 

1 .  How  does  God  execute  his  decrees  ? 

2.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  Section  ? 

3.  What  is  the  second  there  taught? 

4.  What  is  the  third  ? 

5.  What  is  the  fourth  f 

6.  What  is  the  fifth  ? 

7.  What  is  the  rationalistic  view  as  to  the  relation  which  God 
sustains  to  the  world  ? 

8.  What  is  the  pantheistic  view  of  the  same? 

9.  What  dangerous  statements  have  been  made  by  some  Chris- 
tian theologians? 

10    State  the  objections  to  the  view  they  represent. 

11.  What  several  points  are  involved  in  the  true  view  of  this 
matter? 

12.  State  the  evidence  that  God  continues  to  uphold  all  his 
creatures  in  being. 

13.  State  the  proof  that  God  exerts  a  providential  control  over 
his  creatures  and  their  actions. 

14.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  the  providential  control  of  God 
reaches  to  the  physical  creation  in  general,  and  to  each  event  in 
particular,  and  to  the  brute  creation. 

15.  Do  the  same  as  to  the  general  affairs  of  men  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  individuals. 

16.  Do  the  same  as  to  the  free  actions  of  men,  and  their  sinful 
and  good  actions. 

17.  Prove  that  the  providential  government  of  God  is  the  ex- 
ecution of  his  eternal  purpose. 

18.  Prove  that  the  chief  end  of  God  in  providence  is  the  mani- 
festation of  his  own  glory. 

19.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  second  and  third 
Sections  ? 

20.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

21.  What  is  the  third  ? 

22.  What  is  the  fourth? 

23.  Prove  that  the  providential  control  of  all  things  by  God  is 
tlways  certainly  efficacious. 

10 


146  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

24.  Prove  from  the  relation  that  providence  sustains  to  creatiot 
that  the  manner  in  which  God  controls  any  creature  must  be  con- 
sistent with  its  nature. 

25.  The  same  from  universal  experience  and  observation. 

26.  What  general  evidence  of  such  control  do  we  see  ? 

27.  Is  it  possible  that  the  free  actions  of  the  human  will  can  be 
controlled  without  destroying  their  freedom? 

28.  State  the  evidence  for  believing  that  God  usually  effects 
his  purposes  through  the  use  of  means. 

29.  Can  you  assign  a  reason  why  God  should  adopt  such  a 
Bystem  ? 

30.  Prove  that  God  can  effect  his  ends  when  he  pleases  with- 
out the  use  of  means,  by  the  direct  power  of  his  will. 

31.  Why  should  we  expect  God  at  times  to  act  in  that  manner? 

32.  On  what  two  grounds  has  it  been  insisted  that  it  is  deroga- 
tory to  the  divine  perfections  to  attribute  miracles  to  God  ? 

33.  In  what  sense  do  miracles  occur  according  to  law? 

34.  Show  the  fallacy  of  the  above  objections. 

35.  Is  it  possible  to  explain  fully  the  manner  in  which  God 
controls  the  sinful  actions  of  men  ? 

36.  What  points  do  the  Scriptures  make  certain  as  to  the  re- 
lation of  God  to  the  sins  of  men? 

37.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  he  does  control  according  to  his 
purpose  all  sinful  actions. 

38.  Prove  that  he  restrains  them  and  overrules  them  for 
good. 

39.  Show  that  divine  providence  cannot  be  charged  with  either 
causing  or  approving  sin. 

40.  What  is  the  first  truth  taught  in  the  fifth,  sixth  and 
seventh  Sections? 

41.  What  is  the  second  truth  there  taught? 

42.  What  is  the  third? 

43.  What  is  the  fourth? 

44.  What  is  the  fifth? 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF   THE    FALL  OF   MAN,  OF   £IN  AND    OF    THE    PUNISHMENT 
THEREOF. 

Section  I. — Our  first  parents  being  seduced  by  the  subtilty 
and  temptation  of  Satan,  sinned  in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit.1 
This  their  sin  Grod  was  pleased  according  to  his  wise  and  holy 
counsel  to  permit,  having  purposed  to  order  it  to  his  own  glory." 

1  Gen.  iii.  13;  2  Cor.  xi.  3.— 2  Roui.  xi.  32. 

God  having  brought  the  souls  of  Adam  and  Eve  into 
being  by  immediate  creation  holy,  and  with  sufficient 
knowledge  as  to  his  will,  capable  of  obedience  yet  fal- 
lible, this  Section  proceeds  to  teach  : 

1st.  That  they  sinned. 

2d.  That  the  particular  sin  they  committed  was  their 
eating  the  forbidden  fruit. 

3d.  That  they  were  seduced  thereto  by  the  subtlety 
and  temptation  of  Satan. 

4th.  That  this  sin  was  permissively  embraced  in  the 
sovereign  purpose  of  God. 

5th.  That  in  so  doing  God  designed  to  order  it  to  his 
own  glory. 

1st.  Our  first  parents  sinned. 

2d.  The  particular  sin  they  committed  was  their  eat- 
ing the  forbidden  fruit. 

It  appears  to  be  God's  general  plan,  and  one  emi- 
nently wise   and  righteous,  to  introduce  all    the  new- 

147 


148  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

created  subjects  of  moral  government  into  a  state  of 
probation  for  a  time,  in  which  he  makes  their  perma- 
nent character  and  destiny  depend  upon  their  own 
action.  He  creates  them  holy,  yet  capable  of  falling. 
In  this  state  he  subjects  them  to  a  moral  test  for  a  time. 
If  they  stand  the  test,  the  reward  is  that  their  moral 
characters  are  confirmed  and  rendered  infallible,  and  they 
are  introduced  into  an  inalienable  blessedness  for  ever. 
If  they  fail,  they  are  judicially  excluded  from  God's 
favour  and  communion  for  ever,  and  hence  morally  and 
eternally  dead.  This  certainly  has  been  his  method  of 
dealing  with  new-created  angels  and  men.  In  the  case 
of  mankind  the  specific  test  to  which  our  first  parents 
were  subjected  was  their  abstaining  from  eating  of  the 
fruit  of  a  single  tree.  As  this  was  a  matter  in  itself 
morally  indifferent,  it  was  admirably  adapted  to  be  a 
test  of  their  implicit  allegiance  to  God  of  their  absolute 
faith  and  submission. 

The  dreadful  sin  which  they  committed  in  eating  this 
fruit  appears  from  the  indications  afforded  in  the  record 
in  Genesis  to  have  been — (1.)  Unbelief.  They  were  in- 
duced to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  divine  prohibition 
and  the  certainty  of  the  divine  threatening.  (2.)  Disobe- 
dience.   They  set  their  will  in  opposition  to  God's  will. 

In  respect  to  the  origin  of  sin  in  this  world,  there  are 
two  questions  which  men  constantly  ask,  and  which  it  is 
impossible  to  answer: 

A.  How  could  sinful  desires  or  volitions  originate  in 
the  soul  of  moral  agents  created  holy  like  Adam  and 
Eve?  Men  exercise  choice  according  to  their  prevailing 
desires  and  affections.  If  these  are  holy,  the^r  wills  are 
holy      And  the  character  of  their  prevailing  Affections 


FALL   OF   MAN,    SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.  149 

and  desires  is  determined  by  the  moral  state  of  their 
souls.  If  their  souls  are  holy,  these  are  holy ;  if  their 
souls  are  sinful,  these  are  sinful.  Christ  says,  "a  good 
man,  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  the  heart,  bringeth  forth 
good  things ;  and  an  evil  man,  out  of  the  evil  treasure, 
bringeth  forth  evil  things."  "  Either  make  the  tree 
good,  and  his  fruit  good  ;  or  else  make  the  tree  corrupt, 
and  his  fruit  corrupt/'  Matt.  xii.  33,  35.  But  Adam's 
heart  had  been  created  holy;  how  then  could  his  action 
be  sinful? 

All  our  experience  conspires  to  make  the  question 
more  difficult.  The  sinful  souls  of  fallen  men  never 
can  give  birth  to  holy  volitions  until  they  are  regen- 
erated by  divine  grace.  The  holy  spirits  of  angels  and 
glorified  men  in  heaven  are  for  ever  removed  from  all 
liability  to  sinful  affections  or  actions.  In  both  these 
cases  the  stream  continues  as  the  fountain. 

Now,  although  we  cannot  explain  precisely  the  origin 
of  sin  in  the  holy  soul  of  Adam,  it  is  plain  that  the 
difficulty  lies  only  in  our  ignorance.  (1.)  We  have 
none  of  us  experienced  the  same  conditions  of  free 
agency  as  those  which  give  character  to  the  case  of 
Adam.  We  have  always  been  under  the  bondage  of 
corruption,  except  in  so  far  as  we  are  momentarily 
assisted  against  nature  by  supernatural  grace.  Now,  in 
order  that  a  volition  shall  be  holy,  it  must  spring  from 
a  positively  holy  affection  or  disposition,  and  as  these 
are  not  native  to  our  hearts,  we  cannot  exercise  holy 
volitions  without  grace.  But  Adam  was  in  a  state  of 
probation,  holy  yet  fallible.  Saints  and  angels  are  holy 
and  infallible,  yet  their  infallibility  is  not  essential  to 
their  natures,  but  is  a  superaddel  divine  grace  sustained 


150  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

by  the  direct  power  of  God.  While  holiness  must 
always  be  positive,  rooting  itself  in  divine  love,  it  is 
plain  that  sin  may  originate  in  defect ;  not  in  positive 
alienation,  but  in  want  of  watchfulness,  in  the  temporary 
ascendency  of  the  natural  and  innocent  appetites  of  the 
body  or  constitutional  tendencies  of  the  soul  over  the 
higher  powers  of  conscience. 

The  motives,  objective  or  subjective,  which  appear  to 
have  led  to  this  dreadful  sin  in  the  case  of  our  first 
parents  were  not  intrinsically  sinful,  but  became  so  when 
dwelt  upon  and  allowed  gradually  to  occupy  the  mind 
and  sway  the  will  in  despite  of  the  divine  prohibition. 
They  were — (1.)  Natural  appetite  for  the  attractive  fruit. 
(2.)  Natural  desire  for  knowledge.  (3.)  The  persuasive 
power  of  the  superior  mind  and  will  of  Satan.  In  this 
last  fact — that,  3d,  they  were  seduced  thereto  by  the 
subtlety  of  Satan — much  of  the  solution  of  this  mystery 
lies.  To  the  fall  of  Satan  and  his  angels  in  the  remote 
past,  and  under  conditions  of  which  we  have  no  knowl- 
edge, the  true  origin  of  sin  is  to  be  referred. 

B.  The  other  element  of  mystery  with  regard  to  the 
origin  of  sin  relates  to  the  permission  of  God.  This 
Section  affirms,  4th,  That  this  sin  was  permissively  em- 
braced in  the  eternal  purpose  of  God. 

About  the  facts  of  the  case  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
(1.)  God  did  certainly  foreknow  that  if  such  a  being  as 
Adam  was  put  in  such  conditions  as  he  was,  he  would 
sin  as  he  sinned.  Yet,  in  spite  of  this  certain  know- 
ledge, God  created  that  very  being  and  put  him  in  those 
very  conditions,  and  having  determined  to  overrule  the 
sin  for  good,  he  sovereignly  decreed  not  to  intervene  to 
prevent,  and  so  he   made  it  certainly  future.     (2.)  G;i 


151 

the  other  hand,  God  did  neither  cause  nor  approve 
Adam's  sin.  He  forbade  it,  and  presented  motives 
which  should  have  deterred  from  it.  He  created  Adam 
holy  and  fully  capable  of  obedience,  and  with  sufficient 
knowledge  of  his  duty,  and  then  left  him  alone  to  his 
trial.  If  it  be  asked  why  God,  who  abhors  sin,  and  who 
benevolently  desires  the  excellence  and  happiness  of  his 
creatures,  should  sovereignly  determine  to  permit  such  a 
fountain  of  pollution,  degradation  and  misery  to  be 
opened,  we  can  only  say,  with  profound  reverence,  "  Even 
so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight!" 

5th.  That  God  from  the  beginning  designed  to  order 
the  sin  of  Adam  to  his  own  glory  is  included  in  what 
we  have  already  proved  in  the  Chapters  on  Creation  and 
Providence — (a.)  That  God  overrules  the  sins  of  his 
creatures  for  good,  (b.)  That  the  chief  end  of  all  God's 
purposes  and  works  is  the  manifestation  of  his  own 
glory. 

Section  II. — By  this  sin  they  fell  from  their  original  righteous- 
ness and  communion  with  God,3  and  so  became  dead  in  sin,4  and 
wholly  defiled  in  all  the  faculties  and  parts  of  soul  and  body.5 

3  Gen  iii.  6-8;  Eccles.  xii.  29;  Rom.  iii.  23.—*  Gen.  ii.  17;  Eph.  ii.  1. 
— 5  Tit.  i.  15;  Gen.  vi.  5;  Jer.  xvii.  9;  Rom.  iii.  10-18. 

This  Section  teaches  what  were  the  consequences  of 
this  first  sin  upon  its  immediate  authors.  In  doing  so 
it  affirms — 

1st.  That  by  this  sin  they  were  immediately  cut  off 
from  communion  wTith  God. 

2d.  That  consequently  they  lost  their  original  right- 
eousness. 

3d.  At  the  sams  time  they  became  dead  in  sin  and 
wholly  defiled. 


152  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

4th.  That  this  moral  corruption  extended  to  all  the 
faculties  and  parts  of  soul  and  body. 

As  a  natural  being  man  depends  upon  the  same  sus- 
taining power  of  God  that  providentially  sustains  all 
things  in  being.  But  as  a  moral  and  religions  being  he 
depends  upon  the  intimate  and  loving  communion  of 
God's  Spirit  for  spiritual  life,  and  consequently  for  a 
right  moral  state  and  action.     Hence — 

1st.  By  this  sin  man  must  have  instantly  been  cut 
off  from  this  loving  communion  of  the  divine  Spirit. 
This  must  have  been  under  any  constitution  the  natural 
effect  of  sin.  And  under  (see  Chap,  vii.,  §  2)  that  cove- 
nant relation  into  which  man  had  been  introduced  in 
the  gracious  providence  of  God  at  his  creation,  it  was 
specifically  provided  that  the  commission  of  the  forbid- 
den act  should  be  followed  by  instant  death  ;  that  is, 
instant  penal  exclusion  from  the  source  of  all  moral  and 
spiritual  life.   Gen.  ii.  17.     Hence — 

2d.  The  principle  of  spiritual  life  having  been  with- 
drawn as  the  punishment  of  that  first  sin,  our  first 
parents  must  have  instantly  lost  their  original  right- 
eousness, their  allegiance  had  been  violated,  their  faith 
broken,  and  love  could  no  longer  dominate  in  their 
hearts.     And  hence — 

.'3d.  They  must  at  once  become  dead  in  sins  and 
wholly  corrupt.  And  4th,  This  corruption  must  extend 
to  all  the  faculties.  It  is  not  meant  that  Adam  by  this 
one  sin  became  as  bad  as  a  man  can  be  or  as  he  himself 
became  afterward.  But  as  death  at  the  heart  involves 
death  in  all  the  members,  so  the  favour  and  communion 
of  God  being  lost,  (a)  original  righteousness,  the  neces- 
sary principle  of  obedience,  is  lost.     (6.)  Adam's  apos- 


FALL   OF   MAN,   SIN    AND    ITS   PUNISHMENT.  153 

fcasy  from  God  is  complete.  God  demands  perfect 
obedience,  and  Adam  is  now  a  rebel,  (c.)  A  schism 
was  introduced  into  his  soul.  Conscience  uttered  its 
condemning  voice.  This  leads  to  fear,  distrust,  prevari- 
cation and  an  endless  series  of  sins,  (d.)  Thus  his  entire 
nature  became  depraved.  The  will  being  at  war  with 
the  conscience,  the  understanding  became  darkened,  the 
passions  roused,  the  affections  alienated,  the  conscience 
callous  or  deceitful,  the  appetites  of  the  body  inordinate, 
and  its  members  instruments  of  unrighteousness. 

Section  III. — They  being  the  root  of  all  mankind,  the  guilt 
of  this  sin  was  imputed,6  and  the  same  death  in  sin  and  corrupted 
nature  conveyed  to  all  their  posterity,  descending  from  them  by 
ordinary  generation.7 

Section  IV. — From  this  original  corruption,  whereby  we  are 
utterly  indisposed,  disabled  and  made  opposite  to  all  good,8  and 
wholly  inclined  to  all  evil,9  do  proceed  all  actual  transgressions.10 

6  Gen.  i.  27,  28;  iii.  16,  17;  Acts  xvii.  26;  Rom.  v.  12, 15-19;  4  Cor.  xv. 
21,  22,  45,  49.-7  ps.  h.  5.  Gen.  v.  3;  Job  xiv.  4;  xv.  14.— 8  Rom.  v.  6; 
Viii.  7  ;  vii.  18  ;  Col.  i.  21.— 9  Gen.  vi.  5  ;  viii.  21 ;  Rom.  iii.  1 0-12.— 10  James 
i.  14,  15;  Eph.  ii.  2,  3;  Matt.  xv.  19. 

These  Sections  teach  us  what  were  the  consequences 
of  the  first  sin  to  the  descendants  of  its  authors.  In 
dome:  so  our  standards  affirm — 

1st.  That  Adam  was  both  the  natural  and  federal 
head  of  all  mankind.  Conf.  Faith,  ch.  vii.,  §  2,  and  L. 
Cat.,  Qs.  22,  25,  and  S.  Cat.,  Qs.  16,  18. 

2d.  That  consequently  the  guilt  or  liability  to  the 
penal  consequences  of  that  sin  was  imputed,  charged 
to  the  account  of,  and  at  their  birth  actually  inflicted 
upon  all  men. 

3d.    That  consequently  the  moral   corruption   which 


154  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

results  from  the  penal  withdrawing  of  God's  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  case  of  our  first  parents,  is  necessarily  conveyed 
to  all  those  of  their  descendants  who  are  produced  through 
ordinary  generation. 

4th.  This  innate  hereditary  depravity  of  soul  is  total, 
for  by  it  we  are  utterly  indisposed,  disabled  and  made 
opposite  to  all  good,  and  wholly  inclined  to  evil. 

oth.  From  this  innate  moral  depravity  proceed  all 
subsequent  actual  transgressions. 

1st.  Adam  was  both  the  natural  and  federal  head  of 
all  mankind,  Christ  of  course  excepted. 

The  nature  and  provisions  of  that  covenant  which 
God  made  with  Adam  will  be  considered  in  its  ap- 
propriate place,  Chapter  viii.,  §  2.  The  point  which 
demands  our  attention  here  is,  that,  in  making  that  cov- 
enant with  Adam,  God  constituted  him  and  treated  with 
him  as  the  moral  representative  of  all  his  natural  de- 
scendants. This  is  very  explicitly  taught  in  our  stand- 
ards. Conf.  Faith,  ch.  viii.,  §  2:  "The  first  covenant 
made  with  man  was  a  covenant  of  works,  wherein  life 
was  promised  to  Adam,  and  in  him  to  his  posterity,  upon 
condition  of  perfect  and  personal  obedience."  L.  Cat., 
Q.  22  :  "  The  covenant  being  made  with  Adam  as  a 
public  person,  not  for  himself  only,  but  for  all  his  poster- 
ity, all  mankind  descending  from  him  by  ordinary  gen- 
eration sinned  in  him  and  fell  with  him  in  his  first  trans- 
gression. '  S.  Cat.,  Q.  16  :  "  The  covenant  being  made 
with  Adam,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  his  posterity,  all 
mankind  descending  from  him  by  ordinary  generation 
sinned  in  him  and  fell  with  him  in  his  first  transgression" 

As  we  have  seen,  it  is  God's  general  method  of  deal- 
ing with  new-crer/.ed  moral  agents  to  create  them  holy, 


FALL   OF    MAN,    SIN    AND    ITS   PUNISHMENT.  155 

yet  capable  of  falling,  and  then  to  put  them  on  trial  for 
a  time,  making  their  confirmed  and  permanent  moral 
character  and  destiny  to  depend  upon  their  own  action. 
In  the  case  of  the  angels,  who  were  severally  created 
independent  individuals,  they  appear  to  have  stood  their 
trial  severally,  each  in  his  own  person.  Some  fell,  and 
some  were  confirmed  in  holiness  and  blessedness.  But 
in  the  case  of  a  race  to  be  propagated  in  a  series,  each 
individual  to  come  into  existence  an  unintelligent  infant, 
thence  to  develop  gradually  into  moral  agency,  like  that 
of  mankind,  it  is  ?bvious  that  one  of  three  plans  must 
be  adopted  :  (a.)  The  whole  race  must  be  confirmed  in 
holiness  and  happiness  without  any  probation.  (6.) 
Each  individual  must  stand  his  own  probation  while 
groping  his  way  from  infancy  into  childhood,  (c.)  Or 
the  whole  race  must  have  their  trial  in  their  natural 
head  and  root,  Adam.  We  are  not  in  a  condition  to 
judge  of  the  propriety  of  the  first  of  these  plans,  but 
we  can  easily  see  that  the  third  is  incomparably  more 
rational,  righteous  and  merciful  than  the  second. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  God  did  make  our  character  and 
destiny  to  depend  upon  the  conduct  of  Adam  in  his 
probation.  This  was  right — (a.)  Because,  as  sovereign 
Creator  and  infinitely  wise,  righteous  and  merciful  Guar- 
dian of  the  interests  of  all  his  creatures,  it  seemed  right 
in  his  eyes,  (b.)  Because  it  was  more  to  our  advantage 
than  any  other  plan  that  can  be  imagined.  Adam  was 
most  advantageously  constituted  and  circumstanced  in 
order  that  he  should  stand  the  trial  safely.  Incalculable 
benefits  as  well  as  risks  were  suspended  upon  his  action. 
If  he  had  maintained  his  integrity  for  a  limited  period, 
all  his  race  would  have  been  born  into  an   indefeasible 


166  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

inheritance  of  glory,  (c.)  Because  the  covenant  head- 
ship of  Adam  is  part  of  a  glorious  constitution  which 
culminates  in  the  covenant  headship  of  Christ. 

That  Adam  was,  as  our  standards  say,  "a  public 
person,"  and  that  the  covenant  was  made  with  him 
"not  only  for  himself,  but  for  all  his  posterity,"  is 
proved  from  the  facts — 

(1.)  That  he  was  called  by  a  generic  name,  Adam — 
the  Man. 

(2.)  That  everything  that  God  commanded,  promised 
or  threatened  him  related  to  his  descendants  as  much  as 
to  himself  personally.  Thus,  "obedience,"  "a  cursed 
earth,"  "  the  reign  of  death,"  painful  child-bearing,"  and 
the  subsequent  promise  of  redemption  through  the  seed 
of  the  woman,  were  spoken  with  reference  to  us  as  much 
as  with  reference  to  our  first  parents. 

(3.)  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  very  penalty  denounced 
and  executed  upon  Adam  has  been  executed  upon  all  of 
his  descendants,  from  birth  upward.  All  are  born 
spiritually  dead,  "  by  nature  children  of  wrath."  Also, 
from  the  fact  that — 

2d.  The  guilt  of  that  sin  is  imputed  to  all  his  de- 
scendants, and  the  penalty  executed  upon  them  at  their 
birth. 

By  the  word  "guilt"  is  meant,  not  the  personal  dis- 
position which  prompted  the  act,  nor  the*  personal  moral 
pollution  which  resulted  from  it,  but  simply  the  just 
liability  to  the  punishment  which  that  sin  deserved. 

By  the  term  "  impute"  is  meant  to  lay  to  the  charge 
or  credit  of  any  one  as  a  ground  of  judicial  punishment 
or  justification.  This  is  the  sense  in  which  the  phrase 
"to  impute  sin  or  righteousness"  is  used  in  the  Bible. 


FALL    OF    MAN,    SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.  157 

'■  David  describeth  the  blessedness  of  the  man  to  whom 
the  Lord  imputeth  righteousness  without  works,  ...  to 
whom  the  Lord  will  not  impute  sin.  Faith  was  im- 
puted to  Abraham  for  righteousness."  Rom.  iv.  3-9. 
"  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself, 
hot  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them."  2  Cor.  v.  19. 
Our  standards  expressly  affirm  that  the  "  guilt,"  or 
just  liability  to  the  penalty,  of  Adam's  apostatizing  act 
is  by  God  "  imputed"  or  judicially  laid  to  the  charge  of 
each  of  his  natural  descendants.  Conf.  Faith,  ch.  vi., 
§3:  "This  sin  was  imputed  .  .  .  to  all  their  posterity." 
In  L.  Cat.,  Q.  25,  and  S.  Cat.,  Q.  17,  "the  sinfulness 
of  that  estate  into  which  the  fall  brought  mankind"  is 
declared  to  include  each  of  the  following  elements  : 
"(a)  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin,  (b)  the  want  of  original 
righteousness,  (c)  the  corruption  of  the  whole  nature, 
which  is  commonly  called  original  sin,  together  with  all 
actual  transgressions  which  proceed  from  it."  The 
reason  which  our  standards  give  for  this  judicial  charg- 
ing the  punishableness  of  Adam's  first  sin  to  all  his 
posterity  is,  that  they  really  "  sinned  in  him  in  his  first 
transgression,"  L.  Cat.,  Q.  22;  S.  Cat.,  Q.  16;  since  he 
acted  as  "  a  public  person,"  and  the  covenant  was  made 
with  him  "  not  for  himself  alone,  but  for  all  his  poster- 
ity." L.  Cat.,  Q.  22 ;  S.  Cat.,  Q.  16.  That  is,  Adam, 
by  a  divine  constitution,  so  represented  and  acted  for  all 
his  posterity  that  they  are  fairly  responsible  for  his 
action,  and  are  worthy  of  punishment  on  account  of  it. 
Since  their  destiny,  as  well  as  his  own,  was  suspended 
upon  Adam's  action,  since  they  were  justly  to  have  part 
in  his  reward  if  he  was  faithful,  so  they  justly  have  part 
in  his  punishment  for  his  unfaithfulness. 


158  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

The  Articles  of  the  Synod  of  Dort  affirm  that  moral 
depravity  is  inflicted  upon  all  the  descendants  of  Adam 
at  birth  uby  the  just  judgment  of  God."  Ch.  iii.,  §  2.  This 
is  also  explicitly  taught  in  Scripture.  Paul  teaches  in 
Rom.  v.  12-21,  («.)  that  the  law  of  death,  spiritual  and 
physical,  under  which  we  are  born,  is  a  consequent  of 
Adam's  public  disobedience ;  and  (6)  that  it  is  a  "judg- 
ment" a  " condemnation" — that  is,  a  penal  consequent  of 
Adam's  sin.  "  Therefore,  as  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment 
came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation"  (c.)  That  the  pun- 
ishment of  Adam's  sin  comes  upon  us  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciple upon  which  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  charged 
to  the  account  of  those  who  believe  on  him:  "There- 
fore, as  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came  upon  all 
men  to  condemnation,  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of 
one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of 
life."  But  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  imputed  with- 
out works,"  Rom.  iv.  6,  before,  and  as  the  necessary 
condition  of,  good  dispositions  or  actions  upon  our  part. 
So  the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin  is  imputed  to  his  posterity 
without  personal  works  of  their  own,  before,  and  as  the 
cause  of,  their  loss  of  original  righteousness  and  acqui- 
sition of  original  sin.  The  only  sin  of  Adam  which 
the  Confession  says  was  "imputed"  to  his  descendants, 
and  the  sin  of  his  which  they  assert  we  "sinned  in  him," 
was  his  first  sin  or  apostatizing  act.  The  manifest  reason 
of  this  is  that  he  represented  us,  and  we  are  responsible 
for  him  only  in  his  trial  for  character  and  destiny.  Hi? 
first  sin,  by  incurring  the  penalty,  necessarily  and  in- 
stantly closed  his  probation  and  ours,  and  he  immedi- 
ately became  a  private  person. 

The  penalty  denounced  upon  Adam  and  those  whom 


FALL   OF    MAN,    SIN    AND    ITS   PUNISHMENT.  159 

he  represented  in  his  trial  was  the  judicial  withdraw- 
raent  of  the  life-giving  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  the  inevitably  consequent  moral  and  physical  death. 
Hence  every  new-created  soul  comes  into  existence  judi- 
cially excluded  from  the  life-giving  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  hence  morally  and  spiritually  dead. 
Other  actual  sins  and  miseries  in  time  occur  as  the  nat- 
ural consequence  of  this  birth-punishment.  But  the 
Scriptures  and  our  own  consciousness  also  affirm  that 
these  actual  transgressions  are  our  own  personal  sins, 
and  that  all  the  temporal  and  eternal  punishments  we 
suffer  are  on  account  of  them. 

3d.  It  hence  follows,  that  if  the  guilt  of  Adam's 
apostasy  is  charged  to  all  his  natural  descendants,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  consequently  judicially  withdrawn 
from  them  at  their  birth,  the  same  moral  corruption 
which  ensued  from  the  same  cause  in  the  case  of  our 
first  parents  must,  from  their  birth,  follow  in  their  de- 
scendants also.  Of  this  "  corrupted  nature "  this  Sec- 
tion proceeds  to  say : 

4th.  That  "  by  it  we  are  utterly  indisposed,  disabled 
and  made  opposite  to  all  good  and  inclined  to  all  evil ;" 
and, 

5th.  From  this  original  corruption  of  nature  proceed 
all  actual  transgressions. 

It  is  here  taught  (1)  that  all  men  sin  from  the  com- 
mencement of  moral  agency. 

(2.)  That  back  of  this  their  nature  is  morally  cor- 
rupt, indisposed  to  all  good  and  inclined  to  all  evil. 

(3.)  That  this  moral  corruption  is  so  radical  and  in- 
veterate that  men  are  by  nature  "  disabled"  with  respect 
to  right  moral  action. 


1()0  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

(4.)  That  this  condition  is  innate  from  birth  and  by 
nature. 

This  representation  agrees  (1)  with  universal  ex- 
perience. All  the  children  of  men,  of  all  ages,  nations 
and  circumstances,  and  however  educated,  invariably 
sin  as  soon  as  they  become  capable  of  moral  action.  A 
universal  fact  must  have  a  cause  universally  present. 
This  can  only  be  found  in  the  common  depravity  of  our 
natures. 

(2.)  With  all  the  teachings  of  Scripture,  (a.)  It  de- 
clares that  all  men  are  sinners.  Rom.  i,  ii,  and  iii.  1-19. 
(b.)  That  sinful  actions  proceed  from  sinful  hearts  or  dis- 
positions. Matt.  xv.  19 ;  Luke  vi.  43-45.  (c.)  That 
the  disposition  which  prompts  to  sinful  action  is  "sin," 
a  moral  corruption.  Rom.  vi.  12,  14,  17  ;  vii.  5-17;  Gal. 
v.  17,  24;  Eph.  iv.  18,  19.  (d.)  That  this  corruption 
involves  moral  and  spiritual  blindness  of  mind,  as  well 
as  hardness  of  heart  and  vile  affections.  1  Cor.  ii.  14, 
15  ;  Eph.  iv.  18.  (e.)  That  this  moral  corruption  and 
prevailing  tendency  to  sin  is  in  our  nature  from  birth. 
Ps.  Ii.  5;  Eph.  ii.  3;  John  iii.  6.  (/.)  That  men  in 
their  natural  state  are  "  dead"  in  trespasses  and  sins. 
Eph.  ii.  1  ;  John  iii.  14.  And  (g)  that  consequently 
they  can  be  restored  by  no  "  change  of  purpose"  nor 
"  moral  reformation"  upon  their  part,  but  only  by  an 
act  of  almighty  power  called  "a  new  birth,"  "a  new 
creation,"  "a  begetting,"  "a  quickening  from  the  dead." 
Eph.  iv.  24;  ii.  5,  10;  John  iii.  3  ;  1  John  v.  18. 

What  the  Confession  teaches  of  man's  sinful  inabil- 
ity to  do  right,  in  consequence  of  the  depravity  of  his 
nature,  will  be  considered  under  its  appropriate  head,  in 
Chapter  ix. 


FALL   OF   MAN,   SIX    AXD    ITS    PUNISHMENT.        161 

Section  V. — This  corruption  of  nature,  during  this  life,  doth 
remain  in  those  that  are  regenerated,11  and  although  it  be  through 
Christ  pardoned  and  mortified,  yet  both  itself,  and  all  the  motions 
thereof,  are  truly  and  properly  sin.12 

Section  VI. — Every  sin,  both  original  and  natural,  being  a 
transgression  of  the  righteous  law  of  God,  and  contrary  there- 
unto,13 doth  in  its  own  nature,  bring  guilt  upon  the  sinner,14 
whereby  he  is  bound  over  to  the  wrath  of  God,15  and  curse  of  the 
law,16  and  so  made  subject  to  death,17  with  all  miseries  spiritual,18 
temporal,19  and  eternal.20 

«  1  John  i.  8,  10;  Rom.  vii.  14,  17,  18,  23;  James  iii.  2;  Prov.  xx.  9; 
Eccles.  vii.  20.— 12  Rom.  vii.  5,  7,  8,  25;  Gal.  v.  17.— 13  1  John  iii.  4.— 
M  Rom.  ii.  15  ;  iii.  9,  19.— »  Eph.  ii.  3.— »  Gal.  iii.  10.—"  Rom.  vi.  23.— 
18  Eph.  iv.  18.— »  Rom.  viii.  20  ;  Lam.  iii.  39.— ™  Matt.  xxv.  41 ;  2  There,  i.  9. 

Those  Sections  speak  of  the  corruption  that  remains 
in  the  regenerated,  and  of  the  guilt  or  just  liability  to 
punishment  which  attaches  to  all  sin,  and  of  the  punish- 
ments God  inflicts  upon  them. 

I.  Of  the  first,  it  is  taught — 

1st.  Original  sin,  or  innate  moral  corruption,  remains 
in  the  regenerate  as  long  as  they  live. 

2d.  That  it  is  pardoned  through  the  merits  of  Christ. 

3d.  That  it  is  gradually  brought  into  subjection,  and 
mortified  by  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  sanctifies  - 
tion. 

4th.  That  nevertheless  all  that  remains  of  it,  and  all 
the  feelings  and  actions  to  which  it  prompts,  are  truly 
of  the  nature  of  sin. 

All  of  these  points  will  be  more  appropriately  treated 
cinder  the  heads  of  Justification,  Conf.  Faith,  ch.  xi., 
and  of  Sanctification,  Conf.  Faith,  ch.  xiii. 

IT.  Of  the  second,  it  is  taught — 

1st.  That  "  original  sin" — that  is,  the  native  corrupt 
n 


162  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

tendencies  and  affections  of  the  soul — is  as  truly  a  viola- 
tion of  God's  law  as  actual  trangression. 

2d.  That  sins  of  both  classes  are  of  their  own  nature 
guilt ;  that  is,  deserving  of  punishment. 

3d.  That  consequently  the  sinner  (the  person  guilty 
of  either  or  of  both)  is,  unless  grace  intervene,  made  sub- 
ject to  "  death,"  including  spiritual,  temporal  and  eter- 
nal miseries. 

1st.  Original  as  well  as  actual  sin  is  a  violation  of 
God's  law. 

The  Catechisms  (L.  Cat.,  Q.  24  ;  S.  Cat.,  Q.  14)  define 
sin  to  be  "  any  want  of  conformity  unto,  or  transgres- 
sion of,  the  law  of  God." 

This  corresponds  exactly  with  what  the  Apostle 
teaches  (1  John  iii.  4):  " Sin  is  dvo/ua" — any  discrep- 
ancy of  the  creature  or  his  acts  with  God's  law.  This  is 
evident — (1.)  Because  from  its  very  essence  the  moral 
law  demands  absolute  perfection  of  character  and  dispo- 
sition as  well  as  action.  Whatever  is  right  is  essentiallv 
obligatory;  whatever  is  wrong  is  essentially  worthy  oi 
condemnation.  God  requires  us  to  be  holy  as  well  as  to 
act  rightly.  God  proclaims  himself  as  "  he  which  searcheth 
the  reins  and  the  heart."  Rev.  ii.  23.  (2.)  The  native 
corrupt  tendencies  which  constitute  original  sin  are 
called  sin  in  Scripture.  Sin  and  its  lusts  are  said  to 
reign  in  our  mortal  bodies ;  sin  is  said  to  have 
dominion ;  the  unregenerate  are  called  the  servants  of 
sin.  Rom.  vi.  12-17  ;  vii.  5-17;  Gal.  v.  17,  24;  Eph. 
iv.  18,  19.  (3.)  God  condemns  men  for  their  corrupt 
natural  dispositions,  for  their  hardness  of  heart,  spiritual 
blindness  of  mind.  Mark  xvi.  14;  Eph.  ii.  3.  (4.)  In 
all  genuine  conviction  of  sin,  the  great  burden  of  pollution 


FALL   OF    MAN,    SIN    AND    ITS    PUNISHMENT.         163 

and  guilt  is  felt  to  consist  not  in  what  we  have  done, 
but  in  what  we  are — our  permanent  moral  condition 
rather  than  our  actual  transgressions.  The  great  cry 
is  to  be  forgiven  and  delivered  from  "the  wicked  heart 
of  unbelief,"  "  deadness  to  divine  things,  alienation  from 
God  as  a  permanent  habit  of  soul."  "  O  wretched  man 
that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death?"  Eom.  vii.  24;  Ps.  li.  5,  6. 

2d.  It  hence  necessarily  follows  that  original  sin,  as 
well  as  actual  transgressions,  deserves  the  curse  of  the 
law.  Everything  which  is  condemned  by  the  law  is 
under  its  curse.  This  is  evident  (1)  from  what  we 
learned  of  the  justice  of  God  in  Chapter  ii.,  §§  1  and  2. 
(2.)  From  the  fact  that  it  is  the  universal  judgment  of 
men  that  sin  is  intrinsically  ill-desert — all  that  ought  not 
to  be  is  worthy  of  condemnation.  (3.)  From  the  fact 
that  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  convincing  men  of  sin,  always 
likewise  convinceth  them  of  a  judgment.  John  xvi.  8. 
(4.)  Men  are  by  nature  children  of  wrath.  Eph.  ii.  3. 
(5.)  Even  infants  are  redeemed  by  Christ.  And  in  their 
case,  as  in  all  others,  he  redeemed  them  from  the  curse 
of  the  laiu,  being  made  a  curse  for  them.  Gal.  iii.  13. 

3d.  Consequently,  the  sinner  guilty  of  original  and 
of  actual  transgressions  is,  unless  grace  intervene,  made 
subject  to  death,  including  temporal,  spiritual  and  eter- 
nal miseries. 

The  temporal  miseries  inflicted  upon  men  in  the  just 
displeasure  of  God  for  their  sin  are  summarily  set  forth 
in  the  Larger  Catechism.  Q.  28,  as  "  the  curse  of  God 
upon  the  creatures  for  our  sakes,  and  all  other  evils  that 
befal  us  in  our  bodies,  names,  estates,  relations  and 
employments;   together   with   death    itself."      This   of 


164  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

course  applies  only  to  the  still  unbelieving,  unjustified 
sinner.  For  all  the  tribulations  which  are  suffered  by 
the  justified  believer  in  this  life  are  chastisements 
designed  for  his  benefit,  and  expressive  of  his  heavenly 
Father's  love — not  penal  evils  expressive  of  his  wrath 
and  unsatisfied  justice. 

The  spiritual  miseries  which  sin  brings  upon  the 
unforgiven  in  this  life  are  set  forth  "as  blindness  of 
mind,  a  reprobate  sense,  strong  delusions,  hardness  of 
heart,  horror  of  conscience  and  vile  affections. "  Rom.  i. 
28;  ii.  5;  2  Thess.  ii.  11 ;  Larger  Catechism,  Q.  28. 

The  eternal  miseries  which  are  consequent  upon  un- 
forgiven sin  are  set  forth  as  "everlasting  separation 
from  the  comfortable  presence  of  God,  and  most  griev- 
ous torments  in  soul  and  body,  without  intermission,  in 
hell-fire  for  ever."  Larger  Catechism,  Q.  29. 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  Section  ? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught  ? 

3.  What  is  the  third  f 

4.  What  is  the  fourth  f 

5.  What  is  the  fifth  f 

6.  What  appears  to  be  God's  general  plan  of  dealing  with  all 
new-created  moral  agents  ? 

7.  With  what  two  orders  of  beings  has  he  so  dealt? 

8.  What  was  made  the  "test"  in  the  case  of  man?  and  why 
was  it  admirably  fitted  for  that  purpose  ? 

9.  What  appears  to  have  been  the  nature  of  the  sin  committed 
by  our  first  parents  ? 

10.  What  is  the  first  element  of  mystery  involved  in  the 
"origin  of  sin?" 

11.  Why  is  it  difficult  to  conceive  how  a  holy  being  can  begin 
l>o  sin? 


SIN    AND   ITS   PUNISHMENT.        165 

12.  In  what  respects  did  Adam's  state  as  a  moral  agent  differ 
from  ours? 

13.  Why  cannot  a  sinful  agent  originate  a  holy  volition? 

14.  Is  sin  in  its  origin  a  positive  disposition  or  a  defect? 

15.  What  appear  to  have  been  the  motives  influencing  our 
first  parents  ? 

16.  To  whose  action  is  the  true  origin  of  sin  to  be  referred  ? 

17.  What  is  the  second  element  of  mystery  in  the  origin  of 
sin? 

18.  Prove  that  Adam's  sin  was  permissively  embraced  in  the 
divine  decrees. 

19.  Prove  that  God  did  neither  cause  nor  approve  it. 

20.  Prove  that  God  purposed  to  order  it  for  his  own  glory. 

21.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  second 
Section  ? 

22.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

23.  What  is  the  third? 

24.  What  is  the  fourth  f 

25.  Upon  what  does  the  human  soul  depend  for  spiritual 
life? 

26.  Show  that  the  life-sustaining  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
were  immediately  withdrawn  in  punishment  of  sin. 

27.  What  was  the  immediate  consequent  of  that  withdrawal  ? 

28.  To  what  extent  was  the  moral  and  spiritual  character  of 
our  first  parents  affected  ? 

29.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  third  and  fourth 
Sections? 

30.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

31.  What  is  the  third? 

32.  What  is  the  fourth  ? 

33.  What  is  the  fifth  ? 

34..  In  what  Sections  and  in  what  words  do  our  Standards  ex- 
plicitly teach  that  in  the  covenant  of  works  Adam  represented 
all  his  descendants  ? 

35.  What  three  plans  were  possible  with  regard  to  the  mora] 
probation  of  the  individual  members  of  the  human  family. 

36.  Show  why  the  plan  of  giving  us  our  probation  in  Adam'a 
was  both  wise  and  benevolent. 


166  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

37  F  ove  the  fact  that  Adam  was  our  federal  represents 
tive. 

38  V  hat  is  the  precise  sense  in  which  our  Standards  use  the 
term  "guilt?" 

39.  In  what  sense  do  they  use  the  term  "  to  impute?" 

40.  In  what  Sections  and  in  what  words  do  our  Standards 
affirm  that  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin  is  charged  to  the  account 
of  his  children  ? 

41.  What  reason  dc  they  assign  for  this  imputation  of  his  sin 
to  us  ? 

42.  Prove  from  the  Scriptures  that  Adam's  sin  is  so  imputed. 

43.  Why  is  Adam's  first  sin  alone  imputed? 

44.  How  is  that  sin  punished  in  us? 

45.  What  is  the  necessary  effect  of  that  punishment? 

46.  What  do  these  Sections  teach  as  to  the  moral  state  of  man 
by  nature? 

47.  What  are  the  several  points  involved  in  their  teaching. 

48.  Prove  that  the  doctrine  here  taught  agrees  with  the  univer- 
sal experience  of  men. 

49.  State  and  prove  the  several  points  taught  in  Scripture  as 
to  the  nature,  extent  and  time  of  commencement  of  human 
depravity. 

50.  What  subjects  are  treated  of  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  Sec- 
tions ? 

51.  What  is  taught  as  to  the  continuance  and  character  of 
corruption  in  the  regenerate? 

52.  Prove  that  the  innate  and  permanent  tendency  of  the  soul 
to  sin  is  as  truly  a  violation  of  God's  law  as  actual  transgression 

53.  Prove  that  this  "tendency  to  sin"  and  actual  transgression 
are  alike  worthy  of  punishment. 

54.  What  temporal  miseries  are  inflicted  because  of  sin  ? 

55.  What  relation  do  temporal  afflictions  sustain  to  the  justified 
believer  ? 

56.  What  spiritual  miseries  are  inflicted  because  of  sin  ? 

57.  What  eternal  miseries  are  inflicted  on  the  same  account  ? 


CHAPTER    VII. 

of  god's  covenant  with  man. 

Section  I. — The  distance  between  G-od  and  the  creature  is  so 
great,  that  although  reasonable  creatures  do  owe  obedience  unto 
him  as  their  Creator,  yet  they  could  never  have  any  fruition  of 
him  as  their  blessedness  and  reward,  but  by  some  voluntary  con- 
descension on  God's  part,  which  he  hath  been  pleased  to  express 
by  way  of  covenant.1 

Section  II. — The  first  covenant  made  with  man  was  a  cove- 
nant of  works,2  wherein  life  was  promised  to  Adam,  and  in  him 
to  his  posterity,3  upon  condition  of  perfect  and  personal  obe- 
dience.4 

1  Isa.  xl.  13-17;  Job  ix.  32,  33;  1  Sam.  ii.  25;  Ps.  cxiii.  5,  0,  c.  2,  3 ; 
Job  xxii.  2,  3 ;  xxxv.  7,  8 ;  Luke  xvii.  10 ;  Acts  xvii.  24,  25.— 2  Gal.  iii 
12.— 3  Rom.  x.  5  ;  v.  12-20.—*  Gen.  ii.  17  ;  Gal.  iii.  10. 

These  Sections  teach  the  following  propositions : 

1st.  The  duty  which  an  intelligent  creature  owes  its 
Creator  is  essential  and  inalienable  from  its  beino;. 

2d.  The  enjoyment  of  the  Creator's  fulness  and  love 
by  the  creature,  however,  is  a  matter  of  free  and  sove- 
reign grace,  depending  solely  on  the  will  of  the  Creator. 

3d.  In  the  case  of  men  and  angels,  God  has  been 
pleased  to  promise  this  transcendent  benefit  upon  certain 
conditions,  which  conditional  promise  is  called  a  cove- 
nant. 

4th.  In  the  first  covenant  that  concerned   mankind, 

167 


168  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

God  dealt  with  Adam  as  the  representative  cf  all  his 
descendants. 

5th.  The  promise  of  this  covenant  was  life ;  the  con- 
dition of  it  perfect  and  personal  obedience. 

1st.  The  duty  which  an  intelligent  creature  owes  to 
its  Creator  is  inalienable,  and  springs  necessarily  (1) 
from  the  absolute  imperative  obligation  which  is  of  the 
essence  of  all  that  is  morally  right — which  exercises 
authority  over  the  will,  but  does  not  receive  authority 
from  it ;  and  (2)  from  the  relation  of  dependence  and 
obligation  involved  in  the  very  fact  of  being  created 
To  be  a  created,  intelligent,  moral  agent  is  to  be  under 
all  the  obligation  of  obeying  the  will  and  of  living  for 
the  glory  of  the  absolute  Owner  and  Governor. 

2d.  That,  on  the  other  hand,  the  enjoyment  of  the 
Creator's  fulness  and  love  by  the  creature  is  a  matter  of 
sovereign  grace,  depending  alone  upon  the  will  of  the 
Creator,  is  also  self-evident.  The  very  act  of  creation 
brings  the  creature  under  obligation  to  the  Creator,  but 
it  cannot  bring  the  Creator  into  obligation  to  the  crea- 
ture. Creation  itself,  being  a  signal  act  of  grace,  cannot 
endow  the  beneficiary  with  a  claim  for  more  grace.  If 
God,  for  instance,  has  created  a  man  with  an  eye,  it  may 
be  eminently  consistent  with  the  divine  attributes,  and  a 
ground  of  fair  anticipation,  that  at  some  time  he  who 
has  given  eyes  will  also  give  light;  but,  surely,  the 
creation  of  the  first  can  lay  the  foundation  of  no  right 
upon  the  part  of  man  for  the  gift  of  the  second.  And, 
of  course,  far  less  can  the  fact  that  in  creation  God 
endowed  men  with  a  religious  nature  lay  the  foundation 
of  any  right  on  their  part  for  the  infinitely  more  pre- 
cious gift  of  the  personal  communications  of  his  own 


god's  covenant  with  man.  169 

ineffable  love  and  grace.  God  cannot  be  bound  to  take 
all  creatures  naturally  capable  of  it  into  the  intimacies 
of  his  own  society.  If  he  does  so,  it  is  a  matter  of 
infinite  condescension  and  sovereign  will. 

3d.  In  the  case  of  men  and  angels,  God  has  been 
pleased  to  promise  ^his  transcendent  benefit  upon  cer- 
tain conditions,  which  conditional  promise  is  called  a 
covenant.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  amazing 
gift  of  God's  personal  love  and  life-giving  society  had 
been  vffered  to  angels,  and  at  the  beginning  was  offered 
to  the  first  human  pair,  upon  conditions.  Some  object 
that  the  conditional  promise  made  to  Adam  in  the  gar- 
den is  not  explicitly  called  a  covenant,  and  that  it  does 
not  possess  all  the  essential  elements  of  a  covenant, 
since  it  was  a  constitution  sovereignly  ordained  by  the 
Creator  without  consulting  the  will  of  the  creature.  It 
is  a  sufficient  answer  to  these  objections  (1)  that  although 
Adam's  will  was  not  consulted,  yet  his  will  was  unques- 
tionably cordially  consenting  to  this  divine  constitution 
and  all  the  terms  thereof,  and  hence  the  transaction  did 
embrace  all  the  elements  of  a  covenant.  (2.)  That  sev- 
eral instances  of  analogous  transactions  between  God 
and  men  are  expressly  styled  covenants  in  the  Bible. 
If  God's  transactions  with  Noah  (Gen.  ix.  11,  12)  and 
with  Abraham  (Gen.  xvii.  1-21)  were  covenants,  then 
was  his  transaction  with  Adam  in  the  garden  a  cove- 
nant. 

The  analysis  of  a  covenant  always  gives  the  following 
elements :  (a.)  Its  parties,  (b.)  Its  promise,  (c.)  Its 
conditions.  (cZ.)  Its  penalty.  As  to  its  parties,  our 
standards  teach — 

4th.  In  the  first  covenant  that  concerned  mankind, 


170  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

God  dealt  with  Adam  as  the  representative  of  all  hih 
descendants.  The  parties,  therefore,  are  God  and  Adam, 
the  latter  representing  the  human  race.  That  Adam 
did  so  act  as  the  representative  of  his  descendants,  in 
such  a  sense  that  they  were  equally  interested  with  him 
self  in  all  the  merit  or  demerit,  the  reward  or  the 
penalty,  attaching  to  his  action  during  the  period  of 
probation,  has  already  been  proved  to  be  the  doctrine 
both  of  our  standards  and  of  Scripture  (Chapter  vi., 
§§  3,  4).  As  to  the  further  nature  of  this  covenant, 
our  standards  teach — 

5th.  The  promise  of  it  was  life,  the  condition  of  it 
perfect  obedience,  and  the  penalty  of  it  death.  L.  Cat., 
Q.  20;  S.  Cat,,  Q.  12. 

This  covenant  is  variously  styled,  from  one  or  other 
of  these  several  elements.  Thus,  it  is  called  the  "  cov- 
enant of  works,"  because  perfect  obedience  was  its  con- 
dition, and  to  distinguish  it  from  the  covenant  of  grace, 
which  rests  our  salvation  on  a  different  basis  altogether. 
It  is  also  called  the  "  covenant  of  life,"  because  life  was 
promised  on  condition  of  the  obedience.  It  is  also 
called  a  "  legal  covenant,"  because  it  demanded  the  lite- 
ral fulfilment  of  the  claims  of  the  moral  law  as  the 
condition  of  God's  favour.  This  covenant  was  also  in 
its  essence  a  covenant  of  grace,  in  that  it  graciously 
promised  life  in  the  society  of  God  as  the  freely-granted 
reward  of  an  obedience  already  unconditionally  due. 
Nevertheless  it  was  a  covenant  of  works  and  of  law 
with  respect  to  its  demands  and  conditions. 

(1.)  That  the  promise  of  the  covenant  was  life  is 
proved — (a.)  From  the  nature  of  the  penalty,  which  is 
recorded  in  terms.     If  disobedience  was  linked  to  death, 


god's  covenant  with  man.  171 

obedience  must  have  been  linked  to  life.  (6.)  It  is  taught 
expressly  in  many  passages  of  Scripture.  Paul  says, 
Rom.  x.  5  :  "  Moses  describeth  the  righteousness  which 
is  of  the  law,  that  he  which  doeth  these  things  shall 
live  by  them."  Matt.  xix.  16,  17;  Gal.  iii.  12;  Lev 
xviii.  5 ;  Neh.  ix.  29. 

That  the  life  promised  was  not  mere  continuance  of 
existence  is  plain — (a.)  From  the  fact  that  the  death 
threatened  was  not  the  mere  extinction  of  existence. 
Adam  experienced  that  death  the  very  day  he  ate  the 
forbidden  fruit.  The  death  threatened  was  exclusion 
from  the  communion  of  God.  The  life  promised,  there- 
fore, must  consist  in  the  divine  fellowship  and  the  ex- 
cellence and  happiness  thence  resulting,  (b.)  From  the 
fact  that  mere  existence  was  not  in  jeopardy.  It  is  the 
character,  not  the  fact,  of  continued  existence  which 
God  suspended  upon  obedience,  (c.)  Because  the  terms 
life  and  death  are  used  in  the  Scriptures  constantly  to 
define  two  opposite  spiritual  conditions,  which  depend 
upon  the  relation  of  the  soul  to  God.  John  v.  24 ;  vi. 
47;  Rom.  vi.  13;  xi.  15;  Eph.  ii.  1-3;  v.  14;  Rev. 
iii.  1. 

(2.)  That  the  condition  of  the  covenant  was  perfect 
obedience  is  plain  from  the  fact  (a)  that  the  divine  law 
can  demand  no  less.  It  is  of  the  essence  of  all  that  is 
right  that  it  is  obligatory.  James  says,  that  "  whosoever 
shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  is 
guilty  of  all."  James  ii.  10;  Gal.  iii.  10;  Dent,  xxvii. 
26.  (b.)  That  the  command  not  to  eat  of  the  fruit  of 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  relating  to 
a  thing  indifferent  in  itself,  was  plainly  designed  to  be  a 
naked  test  of  obedience,  absolute  and  without  limit. 


172  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

(3.)  That  the  penalty  of  this  covenant  was  death  is 
distinctly  stated.  "In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof,  dying 
thou  shalt  die."  Gen.  ii.  17.  This  denoted  a  most  lam- 
entable state  of  existence,  physical  and  moral,  and  not 
the  cessation  of  existence  or  the  dissolution  of  the  union 
between  soul  and  body,  because  (a)  it  took  effect  in  our 
first  parents  hundreds  of  years  before  the  dissolution  of 
that  union,  (6.)  Because  the  Scriptures  constantly  de- 
scribe the  moral  and  spiritual  condition  into  which  their 
descendants  are  born,  and  from  which  they  are  delivered 
by  Christ,  as  a  state  of  death.  Rev.  iii.  1  ;  Eph.  ii.  1-5; 
v.  14;  John  v.  24. 

This  death  is  a  condition  of  increasing;  sin  and  mis- 
ery,  resulting  from  excision  from  the  only  source  of  life. 
It  involves  the  entire  person,  soul  and  body,  and  con- 
tinues as  long  as  the  cause  continues. 

Section  III. — Man,  by  his  fall,  having  made  himself  incapa- 
ble of  life  by  that  covenant,  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  make  a 
second,6  commonly  called  the  covenant  of  grace,  whereby  he 
freely  offereth  unto  sinners  life  and  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ, 
requiring  of  them  faith  in  him,  that  they  might  be  saved  ;6  and 
promising  to  give  unto  all  those  that  are  ordained  unto  life  his 
Holy  Spirit,  to  make  them  willing  and  able  to  believe.7 

Section  IV. — This  covenant  of  grace  is  frequently  set  forth  in 
the  Scripture,  by  the  name  of  a  testament,  in  reference  to  the 
death  of  Jesus  Christ  the  testator,  and  to  the  everlasting  inherit- 
ance, with  all  things  belonging  to  it,  therein  bequeathed.8 

5  Gal.  iii.  21 ;  Rom.  viii.  3  ;  iii.  20,  21 ;  Gen.  iii.  xv.:  Isa.  xlii.  6.-6  Mark 
xvi.  15,  16 :  John  iii.  16  ;  Rom.  x.  6,  9  ;  Gal.  iii.  11. — *  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26,  27; 
Jonn  vi.  44,  45.— 8  Heb.  ix.  15-17;  vii.  22;  Luke  xxii.  20;  I  Cor.  xi.  25. 

Since  Adam  forfeited  for  himself  and  his  entire  race 
the  original  promise  of  life  upon  the  condition  of  per- 
fect obedience,  and  incurred  the  penalty  of  death  at< 


GOD'S    COVENAN'l     .VITH    MAN.  173 


(ached  to  disobedience,  it  follows  that,  if  the  old  con- 
stitution is  left  without  supplement  cr  modification, 
man  is  lost.  If  mankind  is  to  be  saved,  there  must  be 
a  new  and  gracious  intervention  on  the  part  of  God. 
And  if  God  intervenes  to  save  men,  it  must  be  upon  a 
definite  plan,  and  upon  certain  definitely  proclaimed  and 
accurately  fulfilled  conditions.  That  is,  a  new  covenant 
must  be  introduced,  rendering  life  available  to  those 
who  are  to  be  saved  on  conditions  different  from  those 
offered  in  the  preceding  constitution.  The  question, 
then,  relates  to  what  is  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  as  to 
the  parties  to  whom  the  promise  is  made,  and  the  con- 
ditions upon  which  it  is  suspended. 

The  Arminian  view  is,  that  Adam  having  lost  the 
promise  and  incurred  the  penalty  of  the  covenant 
which  demanded  perfect  obedience,  Christ's  death  hav- 
ing made  it  consistent  with  the  claims  of  absolute  jus- 
tice, God  for  Christ's  sake  introduces  a  new  covenant, 
styled  the  covenant  of  grace,  offering  to  all  men  indi- 
vidually the  eternal  life  forfeited  by  Adam  on  the  low- 
ered and  graciously  possible  conditions  of  faith  and 
evangelical  obedience.  According  to  this  view,  the  new 
covenant  is  just  as  much  a  covenant  of  works  as  the  old 
one  was;  the  only  difference  is  that  the  works  demanded 
are  far  less  difficult,  and  we  are  graciously  aided  in 
our  endeavours  to  accomplish  them.  According  to  this 
view,  also,  faith  and  evangelical  obedience  secure  eternal 
life  in  the  new  covenant  in  the  same  way  that  perfect 
obedience  did  in  the  old  covenant. 

This  view  is  plainly  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of 
the  gospel.  The  method  of  salvation  presented  in  the 
gospel   is  no  compromise  of  principle,  no  lowering  of 


1  74  CONFESSION    OF    FA1  ^H. 

terms.  Christ  fulfils  the  old  legal  covenant  absolutely, 
and  then,  on  the  foundation  of  what  he  has  done,  we 
exercise  faith  or  trust,  and  through  that  trust  Ave  are 
made  sharers  in  his  righteousness  and  beneficiaries  of  his 
grace.  Faith  is  not  a  work  which  Christ  condescends 
in  the  gospel  to  accept  instead  of  perfect  obedience  as 
the  ground  of  salvation — it  is  only  the  hand  whereby 
we  clasp  the  person  and  work  of  our  Redeemer,  which  is 
the  true  ground  of  salvation. 

The  Calvinistic  view,  therefore,  is,  that  God  having 
determined  to  save  the  elect  out  of  the  mass  of  the  race 
fallen  in  Adam,  appointed  his  Son  to  become  incarnate 
in  our  nature,  and  as  the  Christ  or  God-man  Mediator, 
he  appointed  him  to  be  the  second  Adam  and  representa- 
tive head  of  redeemed  humanity,  and  as  such  entered 
into  a  covenant  with  him  and  with  his  seed  in  him. 
In  this  covenant  the  Mediator  assumes  in  behalf  of 
his  elect  seed  the  broken  conditions  of  the  old  cove- 
nant of  works  precisely  as  Adam  left  them.  Adam 
had  failed  to  obey,  and  therefore  forfeited  life ;  he  had 
sinned,  and  therefore  incurred  the  endless  penalty  of 
death.  Christ  therefore  suffered  the  penalty  and  extin- 
guished in  behalf  of  all  whom  he  represented  the  claims 
of  the  old  covenant,  and  at  the  same  time  he  rendered  a 
perfect  vicarious  obedience,  which  was  the  very  condi- 
tion upon  which  eternal  life  had  been  originally  offered. 
All  this  Christ  does  as  a  principal  party  with  God  to 
the  covenant,  in  acting  as  the  representative  of  his  own 
people. 

Subsequently,  in  the  administration  and  gracious  ap- 
plication of  this  covenant,  Christ  the  Mediator  offers 
the  blessings  secured  by  it  to  all   men  on  the  condition 


god's  covenant  with  man.  175 

sf  faith  j  that  is,  he  bids  all  men  to  lay  hold  of  these 
blessings  by  the  instrumentality  of  faith,  and  he  promises 
that  if  they  do  so  they  shall  certainly  enjoy  them ;  and 
he,  as  the  mediatorial  surety  of  his  people,  ensures  for 
them  that  their  faith  and  obedience  shall  not  fail. 

For  the  sake  of  simplicity,  some  Calvinistic  theolo- 
gians have  set  forth  the  divine  method  of  human  re- 
demption as  embraced  in  two  covenants.  The  first, 
styled  the  covenant  of  redemption,  formed  in  eternity 
between  the  Father  and  Christ  as  principal,  providing 
for  the  salvation  of  the  elect;  the  second,  styled  the 
covenant  of  grace,  wherein  life  is  offered  to  all  men  on 
the  condition  of  faith,  and  secured  to  the  elect  through 
the  agency  of  Him  who  as  "surety  of  the  new  covenant" 
ensures  the  fulfilment  of  the  condition  in  their  case. 

Our  Standards  say  nothing  of  two  covenants.  They 
do  not  mention  the  covenant  of  redemption  as  distinct 
from  the  covenant  of  grace.  But  evidently  the  several 
passages  which  treat  of  this  subject  (Conf.  Faith,  ch.  vii., 
§  3;  L.  Cat.,  Q.  31 ;  S.  Cat.,  Q.  20)  assume  that  there  is 
but  one  covenant  contracted  by  Christ  in  behalf  of  the 
elect  with  God  in  eternity,  and  administered  by  him  to 
the  elect  in  the  offers  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel  and 
in  the  gracious  influences  of  his  Spirit.  The  Larger 
Catechism  in  the  place  referred  to  teaches  how  the  cove- 
nant of  grace  was  contracted  with  Christ  for  his  people. 
The  Confession  of  Faith  in  these  Sections  teaches  how 
that  same  covenant  is  administered  by  Christ  to  his 
people. 

The  doctrine  of  our  Standards  and  of  Scripture  mail 
be  stated  in  the  following  propositions  : 

1st.  At  the  basis  of  human   redemption   there  is  an 


176  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

eternal  covenant  or  personal  counsel  between  the  Father, 
representing  the  entire  Godhead,  and  the  Son,  who  is  to 
assume  in  the  fulness  of  time  a  human  element  into  his 
person,  and  to  represent  all  his  elect  as  their  Mediator 
and  Surety.  The  Scriptures  make  it  very  plain  that 
the  Father  and  Son  had  a  definite  understanding  (a)  as 
to  who  were  to  be  saved,  (6)  as  to  what  Christ  must  do 
in  order  to  save  them,  (c)  as  to  hoio  their  personal  salva- 
tion was  to  be  accomplished,  and  (d)  as  to  all  the  bless- 
ings and  advantages  involved  in  their  salvation,  (e)  as 
to  certain  official  rewards  which  were  to  accrue  to  the 
Mediator  in  consequence  of  his  obedience. 

(1.)  The  Scriptures  expressly  declare  that  the  Father 
has  promised  the  Mediator  the  salvation  of  his  seed  on 
condition  of  the  travail  of  his  soul.  Isa.  liii.  10,  11, 
42 ;  vi.  7  ;  Ps.  lxxxix.  3,  4. 

(2.)  Christ  makes  constant  reference  to  a  previous 
commission  he  had  received  of  his  Father  (John  x. 
18;  Luke  xxii.  29),  and  claims  a  reward  conditioned 
upon  the  fulfilment  of  that  commission.  John  xvii.  4,  5. 

(3.)  Christ  as  Mediator  constantly  asserts  that  his 
people  and  his  expected  glory  are  given  him  as  a  reward 
by  his  Father. 

2d.  The  promise  of  this  covenant  was — (1.)  All  need- 
ful preparation  of  Christ  for  his  work.  Heb.  x.  5  ;  Isa. 
xlii.  1-7.  (2.)  Support  in  his  work.  Luke  xxii.  43.  (3.) 
A  glorious  reward  (a)  in  his  own  theanthropic  person  as 
Mediator.  John  v.  22;  Ps.  ex.  1.  (6.)  In  committing  to 
his  hand  the  universal  administration  of  all  the  precious 
graces  and  blessings  of  the  covenant.  Matt.  xiii.  IS; 
John  i.  12;  vii.  39;  xvii.  2;  Acts  ii.  33.  (c.)  In  the 
salvation  of  the  elect,  including  all  general  and  special 


god's  covenant  with  man.  177 

provisions  of  grace,  such  as  regeneration,  justification, 
sanctifieation,  perseverance  and  glory.  Tit.  iii.  5,  6 ; 
Jer.  xxxi.  33;  xxxii.  40;  Isa.  xxxv.  10;  liii.  10,  11. 

3d.  The  condition  of  this  covenant  was  (1.  that  he 
should  be  born  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law.  Gal. 
iv.  4,  5.  (2.)  That  he  should  assume  and  discharge  in 
behalf  of  his  elect,  all  the  broken  conditions  and  incurred 
liabilities  of  the  covenant  of  works  (Matt.  v.  17,  18), 
(a)  rendering  that  perfect  obedience  which  is  the  condi- 
tion of  the  promise  of  the  old  covenant  (Ps.  xl.  8;  Isa. 
xlii.  21 ;  John  viii.  29;  ix.  4,  5;  Matt.  xix.  17),  and  (b) 
suffering  the  penalty  of  death  incurred  by  the  breaking 
of  the  old  covenant.  Isa.  liii. ;  2  Cor.  v.  21  ;  Gal.  iii. 
13;  Eph.  v.  2. 

4th.  Christ  as  mediatorial  King,  administers  to  his 
people  the  benefits  of  his  covenant,  and  by  his  provi- 
dence, his  word  and  his  Spirit  he  causes  them  to  become 
severally  recipients  of  these  blessings  according  to  his 
will.  These  benefits  he  offers  to  all  men  in  the  gospel. 
He  promises  to  grant  them  on  the  condition  they  are 
received.  In  the  case  of  his  own  people  he  works  faith 
in  them,  and  as  their  surety  engages  for  them  and  makes 
good  all  that  is  suspended  upon  or  conveyed  through 
their  agency.  In  the  whole  sphere  of  our  experience 
every  Christian  duty  is  a  Christian  grace,  for  we  can 
fulfil  the  conditions  of  repentance  and  faith  only  as  it  is 
given  to  us  by  our  surety.  All  Christian  graces  also  in- 
volve Christian  duties.  So  that  Christ  at  once  purchases 
salvation  for  us,  and  applies  salvation  to  us ;  zommands 
us  to  do,  and  works  in  us  to  obey ;  offers  us  grace  and 
eternal  life  on  conditions,  and  gives  us  the  conditions 
and  the  grace  and  the  eternal  life.     What  he  gives  us 

12 


178  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

he  expects  us  to  exercise.  What  he  demands  of  us  he 
at  once  gives  us.  Viewed  on  God's  side,  faith  and  re- 
pentance are  the  gifts  of  the  Son.  Viewed  on  our  side. 
they  are  duties  and  gracious  experiences,  the  first  symp- 
toms of  salvation  begun — instruments  wherewith  further 
grace  may  be  attained.  Viewed  in  connection  with  the 
covenant  of  grace,  they  are  elements  of  the  promise  of 
the  Father  to  the  Son,  conditioned  upon  his  mediatorial 
work.  Viewed  in  relation  to  salvation,  they  are  indices 
of  its  commencement  and  conditions  sine  qua  non  of  its 
completion. 

The  present  administration  of  this  covenant  by  Christ 
in  one  aspect  evidently  bears  a  near  analogy  to  a  testa- 
ment or  will  executed  only  consequent  upon  the  death 
of  the  testator.  And  so  in  one  passage  our  translators 
were  correct  in  so  translating  the  word  dtadyxiq.  Heb 
ix.  16,  17.  But  since  Christ  is  an  ever-living  and  con- 
stantly-acting Mediator,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and 
for  ever,  this  word,  which  expresses  his  present  adminis- 
tration, should  in  every  other  instance  have  been  trans- 
lated dispensation,  instead  of  testament.  2  Cor.  iii.  6, 
14;  Gal.  iii.  15;  Heb.  vii.  22;  xii.  24;  xiii.  20. 

Section  V. — This  covenant  was  differently  administered  in  the 
time  of  the  law,  and  in  the  time  of  the  gospel  :9  under  the  law  it 
was  administered  by  promises,  prophecies,  sacrifices,  circumcision, 
the  paschal  lamb,  and  other  types  and  ordinances  delivered  to  the 
people  of  the  Jews,  all  fore-signifying  Christ  to  come,10  which 
were  for  that  time  sufficient  and  efficacious,  through  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  to  instruct  and  build  up  the  elect  in  faith  in  the 
promised  Messiah,11  by  whom  they  had  full  remission  of  sins,  and 
eternal  salvation;  and  is  called  the  Old  Testament.12 

Section  VI. — Under  the  gospel,  wh,en  Christ,  the  substance,18 
was  exhibited,  the  ordinances  in  which  this  covenant  is  dispensed 


god's  covenant  with  man.  179 

are,  the  preaching  of  the  word,  and  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  ;u  which,  though 
fewer  in  number,  and  administered  with  more  simplicity  and  lesf 
outward  glory,  yet  in  them  it  is  held  forth  in  more  fulness,  evi- 
dence and  spiritual  efficacy,15  to  all  nations,  both  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles ;16  and  is  called  the  New  Testament.17  There  are  not,  there- 
fore, two  covenants  of  grace  differing  in  substance,  but  one  and 
the  same  under  various  dispensations.18 

9  2  Cor.  iii.  6-9.— 10  Heb.  vii'i.,  ix.,  x ;  Rom.  iv.  11 ;  Col.  ii.  11,  12 ;  1  Cor. 
v.  7.— u  1  Cor.  x.  1-4 ;  Heb.  xi.  13 ;  John  viii.  56.— 12  Gal.  iii.  7-9,  14. 
—13  Col.  ii.  17.— u  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20;  1  Cor.  xi.  23-25.— w  Heb.  xii.  22- 
27;  Jer.  xxxi.  33,  34.— 16  Matt,  xxviii.  19;  Eph.  ii.  15-19.— »  Luke  xxii. 
20.— is  Gal.  iii.  14,16;  Acts  xv.  11;  Rom.  iii.  21-23,30;  Ps.  xxxii.  1; 
Rom.  iv.  3,  6,  16,  17,  23,  24;  Heb.  xiii.  8. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  That  the  covenant  of  grace  has  from  the  begin- 
ning remained  in  all  essential  respects  the  same,  in  spite 
of  all  outward  changes  in  the  mode  of  its  administra- 
tion. 

2d.  That  under  the  old  dispensation,  this  covenant 
was  administered  chiefly  by  types  and  symbolical  ordin- 
ances, signifying  beforehand  a  Christ  to  come,  and  this 
administration  was  almost  exclusively  confined  to  the 
Jewish  nation. 

3d.  That  the  new  dispensation  of  this  covenant  is 
characterized  by  its  superior  simplicity,  clearness,  fulness, 
certainty,  spiritual  power  and  range  of  application. 

1st.  The  covenant  administered  in  both  dispensations 
is  in  all  essential  respects  the  same.  (1.)  Christ  was 
the  Saviour  of  men  before  his  advent,  and  he  saved 
them  on  the  same  principles  then  as  now.  He  was 
"the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world," 
Rom.  iii.  25  ;  "A  propitiation  for  the  sins  that  are  past," 
Heb  ix.  15.     He  was   promised  to  Adam  and  to  Abra- 


180  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

ham  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Gen.  iii.  15;  xvii.  7 ; 
xxii.  18.  He  was  symbolically  exhibited  and  typically 
prophesied  by  all  the  ceremonial  and  especially  oy  the 
sacrificial  system  of  the  temple.  Col.  ii.  17 ;  Heb.  x. 
1-10.  He  was  especially  witnessed  to  as  the  Saviour 
from  sin  by  all  the  prophets.  Acts  x.  43.  (2.)  Faith 
was  the  condition  of  salvation  under  the  old  dispensa- 
tion in  the  same  sense  it  is  now.  Heb.  ii.  4 ;  Ps.  ii.  12. 
The  Old  Testament  believers  are  set  up  for  an  example 
to  those  who  are  called  to  exercise  faith  under  the  New 
Testament.  Rom.  iv. ;  Heb.  xi.  (3.)  The  same  gracious 
promises  of  spiritual  grace  and  eternal  blessedness  were 
administered  then  as  now.  Compare  Gen.  xvii.  7  with 
Matt.  xxii.  32,  and  Gen.  xxii.  18  with  Gal.  iii.  16.  See, 
also,  Isa.  xliii.  25;  Ps.  xvi.  51;  lxxiii.  24-26;  Ezek. 
xxxvi.  27 ;  Job  xix.  25-27 ;  Dan.  xii.  2,  3. 

2d.  Under  the  old  dispensation  the  covenant  of  grace 
was  administered  with  constantly  increasing  fulness  and 
clearness  (a)  from  Adam  to  Abraham,  in  the  promise  to 
the  woman,  Gen.  iii.  15;  the  institution  of  bloody  sac- 
rifices, and  the  constant  visible  appearance  and  audible 
converse  of  Jehovah  with  his  people.  (6.)  From  Abra- 
ham to  Moses  the  more  definite  promise  given  to  Abra- 
ham (Gen.  xvii.  7;  xxii.  18),  in  the  Church  separated 
from  the  world,  embraced  in  a  special  covenant,  and 
sealed  with  the  sacrament  of  circumcision,  (c.)  From 
Moses  to  Christ,  the  simple  primitive  rite  of  sacrifice 
developed  into  the  elaborate  ceremonial  and  significant 
symbolism  of  the  temple  service,  the  covenant  enriched 
with  new  promises,  the  Church  separated  from  the  world 
by  new  barriers  and  sealed  with  the  additional  sacra- 
ment of  the  Passover. 


god's  covenant  with  man.  181 

3d.  The  present  dispensation  of  the  covenant  is  supe- 
rior to  the  former  one — (a.)  Because,  while  it  was  for- 
merly administered  by  Moses,  a  servant,  it  is  now 
administered  visibly  and  immediately  by  Christ,  a  son 
in  his  own  house.  Heb.  iii.  5,  6.  (6.)  The  truth  was 
then  partly  hid,  partly  revealed,  in  the  types  and  sym- 
bols. Now  it  is  revealed  in  clear  history  and  didactic 
teaching,  (c.)  That  revelation  has  been  vastly  increased, 
as  well  as  rendered  more  clear,  by  the  incarnation  of 
Christ  and  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  (d.)  That 
dispensation  was  so  encumbered  with  ceremonies  as  to 
be  comparatively  carnal.  The  present  dispensation  is 
spiritual.  (<?.)  That  was  confined  to  one  people.  The 
present  dispensation,  disembarrassed  from  all  national 
organizations,  embraces  the  whole  earth.  (/.)  That 
method  of  administration  was  preparatory.  The  pres- 
ent is  final,  as  far  as  the  present  order  of  the  world  is 
concerned.  It  will  give  way  only  to  that  eternal  ad- 
ministration of  the  covenant  which  shall  be  executed 
by  the  Lamb  in  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth, 
when  there  shall  "be  gathered  together  in  one  all  things 
in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven  and  which  are  on 
earth."  Eph.  i.  10.  More  than  this  is  not  yet  made 
known. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  and  second 
Sections? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  third  ? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth  f 

5.  What  is  the  fifth  f 


182  CONFESSION    OF    F^ITH. 

6.  Prove  that  the  duty  which  an  intelligent  creature  owes  U 
its  Creator  is  essential  and  inalienable. 

7.  Prove  that  the  enjoyment  of  the  Creator  by  the  creature  is 
not  a  natural  right,  but  a  gracious  privilege. 

8.  What  arrangement  did  God  in  the  beginning  make  with 
men  in  this  respect  ? 

9.  Prove  that  this  arrangement  is  properly  called  a  covenant. 

10.  What  are  the  several  elements  of  a  covenant? 

11.  Who  were  the  parties  of  the  original  covenant? 

12.  How  is  this  covenant  variously  styled? 

13.  Prove  that  the  promise  of  the  covenant  was  life. 

14.  What  was  involved  in  the  life  promised? 

15.  Prove  the  last  answer. 

16.  What  was  the  condition  of  the  covenant?  and  prove  it. 

17.  What  was  its  penalty?  and  prove  it. 

18.  If  God  purposes  to  save  fallen  men,  what  is  certain  to 
characterize  his  method  of  doing  so  ? 

19.  What  is  the  Arminian  view  as  to  the  conditions  upon  which 
salvation  is  offered  to  fallen  men  ? 

20.  State  the  fatal  objections  to  that  view. 

21.  What  is  the  Calvinistic  view  of  the  condition  of  human 
salvation  ? 

22.  What  distinction  do  some  Calvinists  make  between  the 
"covenant  of  redemption  "  and  the  "covenant  of  grace?" 

23.  In  what  Section  and  in  what  words  is  the  doctrine  of  our 
standards  upon  this  point  stated? 

24.  What  is  the  point  chiefly  set  forth  by  the  Larger  Catechism, 
Q.  31,  and  what  point  is  chiefly  set  forth  by  the  Conf.  Faith,  ch. 
vii.,  §3,  andS.  Cat.,  Q.  20? 

25.  On  what  points  is  it  evident  that  the  Father  and  Son  had 
a  definite  understanding? 

26.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  there  was  such  a  covenant  be- 
tween the  Father  and  the  Son. 

27.  Show  from  Scripture  what  was  the  promise  of  that  cove- 
nant. 

28.  Show  from  Scripture  what  were  its  conditions. 

29.  What  relation  doe?  the  covenant  of  grace  sustain  to  the 
covenant  of  works  ? 


GOD  3    COVENANT    WITH    MAN.  183 

30.  By  whom  is  the  covenant  of  grace  administered? 

31.  How  does  Christ  administer  its  blessings  to  his  people? 

32.  Where  and  why  is  his  present  administration  likened  to  a 
testament? 

33.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 
Sections? 

34.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

35.  What  is  the  third  ? 

36.  Prove  that  the  covenant  of  grace  is  essentially  the  same 
under  all  changes  of  administration. 

37.  -How  was  it  administered  under  the  Old  Testament  dis- 
pensation ? 

38.  In  what  respects  does  the  new  differ  from  and  excel  the 
old  dispensation? 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

OF    CHRIST    THE    MEDIATOR. 

Section  I. — It  pleased  God,  in  his  eternal  purpose,  to^hoos* 
and  ordain  the  Lord  Jesus,  his  only  begotten  Son,  to  be  the 
Mediator  between  God  and  man;1  the  Prophet,2  Priest3 -and 
King;4  the  Head  and  Saviour  of  his  Church;5  the  Heir  of  all 
things;6  and  Judge  of  the  world:7  unto  whom  he  did  from  all 
eternity  give  a  people  to  be  his  seed,8  and  to  be  by  him  in  time 
redeemed,  called,  justified,  sanctified  and  glorified.9 

1  Isa.  xlii.;  1  Pet.  i.  19,  20;  John  iii.  16  j  1  Tim.  ii.  5.— 2  Acts  iii.  22.— 
»  Heb.  v.  5,  6.— 4  Ps.  ii.  6;  Luke  i.  33.— 5Eph.  v.  23.-6  Heb.  i.  2.-7  Acts 
xvii.  31.— 8  John  xvii.  6;  Ps.  xxii.  30  j  Isa.  liii.  10.— 9  1  Tim.  ii.  6;  Isa. 
Iv.  4,  5  ;  1  Cor.  i.  30. 

We  have  already  learned — 

1st.  That  God  has  from  eternity  sovereignly  chosen  a 
definite  number  out  of  the  fallen  human  race  to  be  saved 
by  means  of  the  redemptive  work  of  Christ.  Conf.  Faith, 
ch.  iii.,  §§  3-6. 

2d.  That  God  has  from  eternity  formed  a  covenant 
of  grace  with  his  Son,  in  which  the  Father  gave  the 
Son  a  people  to  be  his  seed,  and  promised  their  salva- 
tion as  his  reward,  and  in  which  the  Son  engaged  to 
perform  and  suffer  all  that  was  necessary  to  that  end. 
Conf.  Faith,  eh.  vii.,  §§  3,  4. 

While  reaffirming  these  truths,  this  Section  teaches, 
in  addition — 

1st.    That    the   covenanted    Head    of    the    redeemed 

184 


CHRIST    THE    MEDIATOR.  185 

Church  is  not  the  divine  Word,  absolutely  considered, 
but  the  incarnate  God-man,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
has  received  a  divine  appointment  to  be  Mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man. 

2d.  That  the  mediatorial  office,  in  the  exercise  of 
which  Christ  accomplishes  our  redemption,  embraces 
three  distinct  functions,  viz. :  those  of  a  Prophet,  of  a 
Priest  and  of  a  King. 

3d.  That,  as  Mediator,  Christ  is  Head  and  Saviour 
of  his  Church,  Heir  of  all  things  and  Judge  of  the 
world. 

A  mediator  is  one  who  intervenes  between  contesting 
parties  for  the  sake  of  making  reconciliation.  The  term 
is  sometimes  applied  to  independent  and  disinterested 
parties  called  in  to  arbitrate  a  difficulty ;  sometimes  to 
a  dependent  messenger  or  agent  of  one  of  the  parties  to 
the  contest  employed  to  carry  overtures  to  the  other 
party.  In  this  sense  Moses  was  a  mediator  between 
God  and  the  people  of  Israel.  Deut.  v.  5;  Gal.  iii.  19. 
Sometimes  it  is  applied  to  an  intercessor  employed  by 
the  weaker  party  to  influence  the  stronger. 

The  Scriptures  apply  the  term,  in  a  higher  sense  than 
any  of  these,  to  Christ.  They  teach  that  he  intervenes 
between  God  and  man,  not  merely  to  sue  for  peace  and 
to  persuade  to  it,  but,  armed  with  plenipotentiary  power, 
efficiently  to  make  peace  and  to  do  all  that  is  necessarv 
to  that  end. 

The  things  necessary  in  order  to  this  great  end  fall 
into  two  classes — (a)  those  that  respect  God,  and  (b)  those 
that  respect  men. 

As  it  respects  God,  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  in  order 
to   reconciliation,  that  the  Mediator  should   propitiate 


186  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

the  just  displeasure  of  God  by  expiating  the  guilt  of 
sin,  and  that  he  should  supplicate  in  our  behalf,  and 
that  he  should  actually  introduce  our  persons  and  ser- 
vices to  the  acceptance  of  the  Father. 

As  it  respects  men,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
Mediator  should  reveal  to  them  the  truth  concerning 
God  and  their  relations  to  him,  and  the  conditions  of 
acceptable  service ;  that  he  should  persuade  and  enable 
them  to  receive  and  obey  the  truth  so  revealed;  and  that 
he  should  so  direct  and  sustain  them  and  so  control  all 
the  outward  influences  to  which  they  are  subjected  that 
their  deliverance  from  sin  and  from  the  powers  of  an 
evil  world  shall  be  perfected. 

Hence  the  mediatorial  office  involves  all  the  three 
great  functions  of  prophet,  priest  and  king,  and  Christ 
discharged  them  all,  both  in  his  estate  of  humiliation 
and  exaltation.  These  are  not  three  distinct  offices 
meeting  accidentally  in  one  office,  but  three  functions 
inhering  essentially  in  the  one  office  of  mediator.  And 
they  each  so  belong  to  the  very  essence  of  the  office  that 
the  quality  peculiar  to  each  gives  character  to  every 
mediatorial  action.  When  he  teaches,  he  is  always  a 
priestly  and  kingly  prophet.  When  he  offers  sacrifice 
or  intercession  for  sin,  he  is  always  a  prophetical  and 
royal  priest. 

(1.)  Christ  is  a  prophet.  A  prophet  is  a  spokesman  ; 
one  sent  from  God  to  man  to  make  known  the  divine 
will.  In  this  sense  Moses  and  all  inspired  men  were 
prophets.  But  Christ  was  the  personal  "Word  of  God" 
incarnate,  he  \vrho  had  eternally  been  "in  the  bosom  of 
God"  and  "  known  the  Father,"  and  consequently  as 
mediatorial  prophet  is  that  original  fountain  of  revela- 


CHRIST    THE    MEDIATOR.  187 

uion  of  which  all  other  prophets  are  the  sti earns.     He 
is  the  Prophet  of  all  prophets,  the  Teacher  of  all  teachers. 

"  He  executeth  the  office  of  a  prophet  in  his  reveal- 
ing to  the  Church  in  all  ages,  by  his  Spirit  and  word, 
in  divers  ways  of  administration,  the  whole  will  of  God, 
in  all  things  concerning  their  edification  and  salvation." 
L.  Cat.,  Q.  43.  That  this  representation  is  true  is 
proved  from  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  (a)  explicitly 
call  him  a  prophet.  Compare  Deut.  xviii.  15,  18  and 
Acts  iii.  22  ;  vii.  37 ;  Heb.  i.  2.  (6.)  Teach  that  he  exe- 
cuted the  functions  of  a  prophet  before  his  incarnation. 
Isa.  ix.  6  ;  Mai.  iii.  1  ;  Job  xxxiii.  23;  1  Pet.  i.  11.  (c.) 
Teach  that  he  executes  the  office  of  a  prophet  since  his 
incarnation.  Matt.  xi.  27;  John  iii.  2;  vi.  68;  Rev. 
vii.  17 ;  xxi.  23. 

(2.)  Christ  is  a  priest.  A  priest  is  (a)  one  taken  from 
among  men,  (b)  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  and  to 
treat  in  behalf  of  men,  and  (c)  in  order  thereto  to  make 
propitiation  and  intercession.  It  is  declared  to  be  essen- 
tial to  the  priest  (a)  that  he  be  a  man  chosen  to  represent 
men  before  God.  Aaron  always  bore  before  the  Lord 
for  a  memorial  a  breastplate  with  the  names  of  all  the 
tribes  of  Israel  engraved  upon  it.  Ex.  xxviii.  9,  12,  21, 
29.  (6.)  He  must  be  chosen  of  God  as  his  special  elec- 
tion and  property.  Num.  xvi.  5  ;  Heb.  v.  4.  (e.)  He 
must  be  holy  and  consecrated  to  the  Lord.  Lev.  xxi.  6- 
8  ;  Ex.  xxxix.  30,  31  ;  Ps.  cvi.  16.  (&)  They  have  a 
right  both  to  draw  near  to  Jehovah  and  to  bring  near — 
i.  e.,  to  offer  sacrifices  and  intercessions.  Lev.  xvi.  3-15. 
(e.)  He  must  have  an  acceptable  sacrifice  to  offer.  Heb. 
viii.  3.  Christ  is  in  this  sense  a  true  priest,  and  he 
executeth   this   office  "  in   his   once  offering   himself  a 


138  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

sacrifice  without  spot  to  God,  to  be  a  reconciliation  for 
the  sins  of  his  people,  and  in  making  continual  inter- 
cession for  them."  L.  Cat.,  Q.  44.  That  this  is  true  is 
proved  from  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  declare  (a) 
that  Christ  possessed  all  the  characteristic  raarkb  and 
qualifications  of  a  priest.  He  became  a  man  for  this 
purpose.  Heb.  ii.  16;  iv.  15.  He  was  chosen  of  God, 
as  was  Aaron.  Heb.  v.  5,  6.  He  was  perfectly  holy, 
and  had  right  of  immediate  approach  to  the  Father. 
(b.)  He  is  declared  to  be  a  priest  in  the  Old  Testament. 
The  entire  order  of  priests  and  the  ceremonial  of  sacri- 
fice was  typical  of  him.  Zech.  vi.  13;  Isa.  liii.  10;  Dan. 
ix.  24,  25.  (c.)  The  gospel  history  declares  that  he 
actually  discharged  all  the  functions  of  a  priest.  He 
has  made  propitiation  by  a  sacrificial  bearing  of  the 
penalty  clue  to  sin.  Eph.  v.  2;  Heb.  ix.  26;  1  John  i. 
2.  He  has  made  intercession  and  he  ever  lives  to  inter- 
cede. Rom.  viii.  34 ;  Heb.  vii.  25.  The  work  of  Christ 
was  the  substance  of  which  the  entire  ceremonial  of  the 
temple  was  the  shadow.  Col.  ii.  17. 

His  priesthood  is  said  not  to  have  been  of  the 
order  of  Aaron,  because,  although  Aaron  and  his  priest- 
hood were  types  of  Christ,  and  existed  simply  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  forth  his  work,  yet  they  were  in- 
adequate to  represent  him  fully  and  in  all  relations. 
They  were  inadequate  chiefly  (a)  with  respect  to  the 
incomparable  dignity  and  excellence  of  his  person.  (6.) 
The  infinite  value  of  his  sacrifice.  Heb.  x.  1.  (c.)  The 
manner  of  their  consecration.  Heb.  vii.  20-22.  (d.) 
They  were  constantly  succeeding  each  other  as  dying 
men.  Heb.  vii.  23,  24.  (e.)  He  was  a  minister  of  a 
greater  and  more  perfect  tabernacle.   Heb.  ix.  11,  24. 


CHRIST   THE    MEDIATOR.  189 

(/.)  They  were  made  priests — he  was  a  royal  and  pro- 
phetical priest.  Zech.  vi.  13;  Rom.  viii.  34;  Heb.  viii. 
1,  2. 

His  priesthood  is  said  to  have  been  of  the  order  of 
Melchisedec,  because  (a)  like  him  he  was  a  royal 
priest,  (b.)  Like  him,  he  had  no  predecessors  or  suc- 
cessors in  office.  He  was  the  only  one  of  his  line,  (c.) 
Because  he  was  an  eternal  priest;  "Thou  art  a  priest  for 
ever  of  the  order  of  Melchisedec."   Heb.  vii.  17.  . 

(3.)  Christ  is  sovereign  Head  over  all  things  to  his 
Church.  Eph.  i.  22;  iv.  15;  Col.  i.  18;  ii.  19.  He 
executeth  the  office  of  a  king  (a)  in  calling  out  of  the 
world  a  people  to  himself,  and  giving  them  offices,  laws 
and  discipline,  by  which  he  visibly  governs  them ;  (b) 
in  bestowing  saving  grace  upon  his  elect,  rewarding 
their  obedience  and  correcting  them  for  their  sins,  pre- 
serving and  supporting  them  under  all  their  temptations 
and  sufferings;  (c)  restraining  and  overcoming  all  their 
enemies,  and  powerfully  ordering  all  things  for  his  own 
glory  and  their  good ;  and  also  (d)  in  taking  vengeance 
on  the  rest,  who  know  not  God  and  obey  not  the  gospel. 

This  lordship  differs  from  that  which  belongs  essen- 
tially to  the  Godhead:  (a.)  Because  it  is  given  to  him 
by  the  Father  as  the  reward  of  his  obedience  and  suffer- 
ing. Phil.  ii.  6-11.  (6.)  The  object  and  design  of  this 
mediatorial  kingship  has  special  reference  to  the  up- 
building and  glory  of  the  redeemed  Church,  (c.)  The 
dignity  and  authority  belong  not  to  his  deity  abstractly, 
but  to  his  entire  person  as  God-man.  This  power  and 
lordship  Christ  already  possesses,  and  it  extends  over 
all  creatures  in  all  worlds.  Matt,  xxviii.  18;  Eph.  i. 
17-23  ;  Phil.  ii.  9-11  ;  Jer.  xxiii.  5;  Isa.  ix.  6  ;  Ps.  ii. 


190  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

6 ;  Acts  ii.  29-33.     And  of  this  kingdom   there  shall 
be  no  end.  Dan.  ii.  44 ;  Isa.  ix.  7. 

Thus  Christ  has  been  shown,  as  Mediator,  to  be — 
5th.  Head  and  Saviour  of  his  Church,  and  Heir  of  all 
things,  that  is,  sovereign  ruler  and  disposer  of  all  things 
throughout  all  worlds.  Eph.  i.  10.  That  element  of 
Christ's  dominion  which  shall  be  exercised  in  his  judg- 
ing men  and  angels  at  the  end  will  be  considered  under 
Chapter  xxxiii. 

Section  II. — The  Son  of  God,  the  second  person  in  the 
Trinity,  being  very  and  eternal  God,  of  one  substance,  and  equal 
with  the  Father,  did,  when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  taka 
upon  him  man's  nature,10  with  all  the  essential  properties  and 
common  infirmities  thereof,  yet  without  sin  ;n  being  conceived 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  of  her  substance.12  So  that  two  whole,  perfect  and  dis- 
tinct natures,  the  Godhead  and  the  manhood,  were  inseparably 
joined  together  in  one  person,  without  conversion,  composition 
or  confusion.13  Which  person  is  very  God  and  very  man,  yet  one 
Christ,  the  only  Mediator  between  God  and  man.1* 

io  John  i.  1,  14;  1  John  v.  20;  Phil.  ii.  6 ;  Gal.  iv.  4.—"  Heb.  ii.  14,  16, 
17  ;  iv.  15.— 12  Luke  i.  27,  31,  35;  Gal.  iv.  4.— M  Luke  i.  35;  Col.  ii.  9; 
Rom.  ix.  5;   1  Pet.  iii.  IS;   1  Tim.  iii.  16.— u  Rom.  i.  3,  4;  1  Tim.  ii.  5. 

The  subject  of  this  Section  is  the  constitution  of  the 
Person  of  the  Mediator  as  the  God-man.  Having 
proved  before  (Chapter  ii.,§  3)  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
one  God,  and  that  he  is  the  second  Person  of  the  ador- 
able Trinity,  of  one  substance  and  equal  with  the  Father, 
this  Section  proceeds  to  assert: 

1  st.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  true  man,  possessing  all 
the  essential  properties  of  humanity,  conceived  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  of  her  substance 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  191 

2d.  That  he  was  absolutely  without  siu. 

3d.  That  he  was  no  less  very  God,  the  eternal  Son 
of  the  Father. 

4th.  That  nevertheless  this  God  and  this  man  is  one 
single  person. 

5th.  That  this  personality  is  the  eternal  Person  of  the 
divine  Son,  who  in  time  took  a  human  soul  and  body 
into  personal  union  with  himself. 

6th.  That  although  one  person,  the  divine  and  human 
nature  in  Christ  are  not  mixed  or  confounded  in  one, 
but  remain  two  pure  and  distinct  natures,  divine  and 
human,  constituting  one  person  for  ever. 

The  most  ancient  and  universally  accepted  statement 
of  the  Church  doctrine  as  to  the  Person  of  Christ  is 
that  which  was  formed  by  the  fourth  General  Council, 
consisting  of  "  six  hundred  and  thirty  holy  and  blessed 
fathers,"  who  were  convened  in  Chalcedon,  A.  D.  451  : 
"  We,  then,  following  the  holy  Fathers,  all  with  one 
consent,  teach  men  to  confess  one  and  the  same  Son,  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  the  same  perfect  in  Godhead,  and 
also  perfect  in  manhood  ;  truly  God  and  truly  man,  of 
a  reasonable  soul  and  body ;  consubstantial  with  the 
Father  according  to  the  Godhead,  and  consubstantial 
with  us  according  to  the  manhood  ;  in  all  things  like 
unto  us  without  sin ;  begotten  before  all  ages  of  the 
Father  according  to  the  Godhead,  and  in  these  latter 
days,  for  us  and  for  our  salvation,  born  of  Mary,  the 
Virgin  Mother  of  God,  according  to  the  manhood  ;  one 
and  the  same  Christ,  Son,  Lord,  Only  begotten,  to  be 
acknowledged  in  two  natures,  inconfnsedly,  unchange- 
ably, indivisibly,  inseparably,  the  distinction  of  natures 
being  by  no  means  taken  away  by  the  union,  but  rather 


192  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

the  property  of  each  nature  being  preserved  and  con- 
curring in  one  Person  and  one  Subsistence,  not  parted 
or  divided  into  two  persons,  but  one  and  the  same  Son 
and  Only  begotten,  God  the  Word,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  as  the  prophets  have  from  the  beginning  de- 
clared concerning  him,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  him- 
self has  taught  us,  and  the  creed  of  the  holy  Fathers  has 
delivered  to  us."  For  the  statements  on  this  subject 
of  the  Athanasian  Creed,  see  Chapter  I.  of  the  Intro- 
duction. 

1st.  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  true  man,  possessing  all 
the  essential  properties  of  humanity,  conceived  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  of  her  substance.  This  includes  two  constituent 
propositions:  (1.)  Jesus  Christ  was  a  true  and  proper 
man,  possessing  all  the  essential  properties  of  humanity. 
He  is  constantly  and  characteristically  called  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus  and  the  Son  of  Man.  Matt.  viii.  20;  Tim. 
ii.  5.  He  had  a  true  body,  for  he  ate,  drank,  slept  and 
increased  in  stature.  Luke  ii.  52.  Through  his  whole 
life  he  was  in  all  public  and  private  association  recog- 
nized as  a  true  man.  He  died  in  agony  on  the  cross, 
was  buried,  rose  again  and  proved  his  identity  by  phy- 
sical signs.  Luke  xxiv.  36-44.  He  had  a  reasonable 
soul,  for  he  increased  in  wisdom,  loved,  sympathized, 
wept  and  shrank  from  suffering  as  a  man.  John  xi.  33- 
35;  Matt,  xxvi.  36-46.  (2.)  The  human  nature  of 
Jesus  is  not  an  independent  creation  merely,  like  ours, 
but  it  was  generated  out  of  the  common  life  of  our  rare, 
of  the  very  substance  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  bv  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  angels  do  not  constitute  a  race 
produced  by  generation,  but  only  a  collection   of  indi- 


CHRIST   THE    MEDIATOR.  193 

victuals.  This  distinction  is  emphasized  when  it  is 
declared  of  Christ,  "  He  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of 
angels,  but  h  j  took  on  him  the  seed  of  Abraham."  Heb. 
ii.  16.  He  is  the  seed  of  Eve.  Gen.  iii.  15;  the  seed  of 
David.  Rom.  i.  3.  He  was  made  of  a  woman  (Gal.  iv. 
4),  conceived  by  her  in  her  womb.  Luke  i.  31 ;   ii.  5-7. 

2d.  That  Jesus,  although  tempted  in  alt  points  like 
as  we  are,  was  yet  absolutely  without  sin,  is  expressly 
declared  in  Scripture.  Heb.  iv.  15.  Peter  testifies  of  him 
that  he  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth. 
1  Pet.  ii.  22.  John  testifies  that  in  him  is  no  sin.  1  John 
iii.  5;  Heb.  vii.  26;  Luke  i.  35.  The  same  is  evident 
from  the  origin  and  constitution  of  his  Person  as  the 
Incarnate  Word ;  from  the  nature  of  the  work  he  came 
to  perform  as  the  deliverer  of  men  from  sin ;  and  from 
the  record  of  his  holy  life  preserved  by  the  evangelists, 
which  remains,  in  the  constrained  acknowledgements  of 
infidels  as  well  as  the  faith  of  Christians,  the  great  moral 
miracle  of  all  ages. 

3d.  That  he  was  no  less  very  God,  the  eternal  Son  of 
the  Father,  has  been  already  proved.  Chapter  ii.,  §  3. 

4th.  That,  nevertheless,  this  God  and  this  man  is  one 
single  person,  is  proved  in  every  way  that  such  a  truth 
can  be  verified.  (1.)  In  all  the  record  of  his  life  there 
is  no  word  spoken  of  him,  no  action  performed  by  him, 
no  attribute  predicated  of  him,  that  suggests  the  idea 
that  he  is  not  one  single,  indivisible  person.  (2.)  The 
personal  pronouns  are  always  used  by  him  and  applied 
to  him  as  if  he  was  a  single  person.  Of  the  same  sub- 
ject and  in  the  same  connection  divine  attributes  and 
actions  and  human  attributes  and  actions  are  predicated. 
(3.)  To  make  the  matter  more  certain  and  evident,  there 

13 


J  9-1  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

are  passages  in  which  the  Person  is  designated  by  a  title 
proper  to  his  divine  nature,  while  the  attribute  or  action 
predicated  of  him  is  proper  to  his  human  nature  j  e.  g.f 
"The  Church  of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his 
own  blood,"  Acts  xx.  28 ;  "  Crucified  the  Lord  of 
glory,"  1  Cor.  ii.  8.  (4.)  There  are  other  passages  in 
which  the  Person  is  designated  by  a  title  proper  to  the 
human  nature,  while  the  attribute  or  action  predicated 
of  it  is  proper  to  the  divine  nature:  "  The  Son  of  Man, 
who  is  in  heaven"  John  iii.  13 ;  "  If  ye  shall  see  the 
Son  of  Man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before."  John  vi. 
62.  (5.)  There  are  other  passages  in  which  divine  and 
human  attributes  and  actions  are  indiscriminately  predi- 
cated of  the  same  Person  :  "  Who  hath  translated  us 
into  the  kingdom  of  his  dear  Son  :  in  whom  we  have 
redemption  through  his  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of 
sins :  who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first- 
born of  every  creature,  .  .  .  and  having  made  peace 
through  the  blood  of  his  cross,"  etc.  Col.  i.  13-20  ;  Heb. 
i.  3. 

5th.  This  personality  is  that  of  the  eternal  Son  of 
God,  who  in  time  took  a  human  soul  and  body  into 
personal  union  with  himself.  This  remarkable  Person 
did  not  begin  to  exist,  and  therefore  was  not  constituted, 
when  he  was  conceived  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin. 
"  Before  Abraham  was  I  am"  he  says.  "  The  Word 
was  made  flesh."  "  God  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into 
the  world."  "  The  Son  was  made  of  a  woman,  made 
under  the  law."  Gal.  iv.  4.  "  Forasmuch  as  the  chil- 
dren were  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  likewise  took 
part  of  the  same."  Heb.  ii.  14;  Phil.  ii.  6-11.  Hence 
it  is  evident  that  the  person  of  Christ  is  divine  and  not 


CHRIST   THE    MEDIATOR.  195 

human,  eternal  and  not  formed  in  time.  But  in  time 
this  eternal  divine  Person  took  a  human  nature  (soul 
and  body)  into  its  personality.  Just  as  the  body,  with 
its  wonderful  constitution  of  organs,  nerves,  senses  and 
passions,  has  no  personality  of  its  own,  but,  during  its 
entire  life  in  the  womb,  grows  into  the  personality  of 
the  soul,  so  the  human  nature  of  Christ  never  for  an 
instant  had  a  separate  personal  existence  of  its  own, 
but,  from  the  instant  of  its  conception,  grew  into  the 
eternal  personality  of  the  Son  of  God.  There  are  in 
Christ,  therefore,  two  natures,  but  one  person  ;  a  human 
as  well  as  a  divine  nature,  but  only  a  divine  person. 
His  humanity  began  to  exist  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin, 
but  his  person  existed  from  eternity.  His  divinity  is 
personal,  his  humanity  impersonal,  and  his  divine  na- 
ture and  his  human  nature  one  Person. 

6th.  Although  but  one  Person,  the  divine  and  human 
natures  in  Christ  are  not  mixed  or  confused  in  one,  but 
remain  two  pure  and  distinct  natures,  divine  and  human, 
constituting  one  person  for  ever. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  explain  philosophically  how 
two  self-conscious  intelligences,  how  two  self-determined 
free  agents,  can  constitute  one  person.  Yet  this  is  the 
precise  character  of  the  phenomenon  revealed  in  the 
history  of  Jesus.  In  order  to  simplify  the  matter,  some 
errorists  have  supposed  that  in  the  person  of  Christ 
there  was  no  human  soul,  but  that  his  divine  Spirit 
took  the  place  of  the  human  soul  in  his  human  body. 
Others  have  so  far  separated  the  two  natures  as  to  make 
him  two  persons — a  God  and  a  man  intimately  united. 
Others  have  so  pressed  the  natures  together  that  neither 
pure  divinity   nor    pure   humanity   is    left,   but   a    new 


196  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

nature  resulting  from  the  mixing  of  both.     In  opposi- 
tion to  this,  we  have  proved  above  («)  that  Christ  had  a 
true  human  soul  as  well  as  a  human  body,  and  (6)  that 
he,  although  both  a  God  and  a  Man,  is  only  one  single 
Person.    The  third  point,  viz.,  that  Christ's  two  natures 
remain  separate  and  unconfused,  is  self-evident.     The 
very  point  proved  in  Scripture  is  that  Christ  always 
continued  a  true  God  and  a  true  Man — not  something 
else  between  the  two.     Now,  the  essential  properties  of 
divinity  cannot  be  communicated  to  humanity;  that  is, 
humanity  cannot  be  made  to  be  infinite,  self-existent, 
eternal  and  absolutely  perfect.     Because,  if  it  possessed 
these,   it  would  cease  to  be  human   and    because  even 
God  himself  cannot  create  divinity,  and  therefore  can- 
not  make   humanity  divine.     The  same   is   true  with 
respect  to  Christ's  divinity.     If  that  should  take  on  the 
limitations  of  humanity,  it  would  cease  to  be  divine,  and 
even  God  is  not  able  to  destroy  divinity.     Hence,  since 
Christ  is  both  God  and  man,  it  follows  that  he  cannot 
be  a   mixture  of  both,  which  is  neither.     Hence,  while 
the  Scriptures  constantly  affirm  (as  we  have  seen)  of  the 
one  Person  whatsoever   is   true,  without  exception,  of 
either  nature,  they  never  affirm  of  either  nature  that 
which  belongs  to  the  other.     It  is  said  that  God — i.  c, 
the  Person  who  is  a  God — gave  his  blood  for  his  Church  ; 
but  it  is  never  said  that  his  divinity  died,  or  that  his 
humanity  came  down  from  heaven. 

Section  III. — The  Lord  Jesus,  in  his  human  nature  thus 
united  to  the  divine,  was  sanctified  and  anointed  with  the  Holy 
(Spirit  above  measure  ;15  having  in  him  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge,16  in  whom  it  pleased  the  Father  that  all  fulnese 
ahould  dwell, "  to  the  end  that,  being  holy,  harmless,  undefiled 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  197 

and  full  of  grace  and  truth,18  he  might  be  thoroughly  furnished 
to  execute  the  office  of  a  Mediator  and  Surety;19  which  office  he 
took  not  unto  himself,  but  was  thereunto  called  by  his  Father,20 
who  put  all  power  and  judgment  into  his  hand  and  gave  him  com- 
mandment to  execute  the  same.21 

Section  IV. — This  office  the  Lord  Jesus  did  most  willingly  un- 
dertake ;22  which  that  he  might  discharge,  he  was  made  under  the 
law,23  and  did  perfectly  fulfil  it;24  endured  most  grievous  torments 
immediately  in  his  soul25  and  most  painful  sufferings  in  his  body;28 
was  crucified  and  died;27  was  buried,  and  remained  under  the 
power  of  death,  yet  saw  no  corruption.28  On  the  third  day  he 
arose  from  the  dead,29  with  the  same  body  in  which  he  suffered;30 
with  which  also  he  ascended  into  heaven,  and  there  sitteth  at  the 
right  hand  of  his  Father,31  making  intercession  ;32  and  shall  return 
to  judge  men  and  angels  at  the  end  of  the  world.33 

!5  Ps.  xlv.  7;  John  iii.  34.— ^  Col.  ii.  3.—"  Col.  i.  19.— 1»  Heb.  vii.  26; 
John  i.  14.— 19  Acts  x.  38 ;  Heb.  xii.  24 ;  vii.  22.— 20  Heb.  v.  4,  5.— 21  John 
v.  22,  27;  Matt,  xxviii.  18 ;  Acts  ii.  36.— 22  Ps.  xl.  7,  8 ;  Heb.  x.  5-10  ;  John 
x.  18;  Phil.  ii.  8.-23  Qai.  iv.  4>_24  Matt.  iii.  15;  v.  17.— 25  Matt.  xxvi.  37, 
38;  Luke  xxii.  44;  Matt,  xxvii.  46.— 26  Matt,  xxvi.,  xxvii.— 27  Phil.  ii.  8.— 
28  Acts  ii.  23,  24,  27  ;  Acts  xiii.  37  ;  Rom.  vi.  9—29  1  Cor.  xv.  3-5.— 3°  John 
xx.  25-27.— 31  Mark  xvi.  19.— 32  Rom.  viii.  34;  Heb.  ix.  24;  vii.  25.— 
»3  Rom.  xiv.  9,  10;  Acts  i.  11;  x.  42;  Matt.  xiii.  40-42;  Jude  6;  2  Pet. 
ii.  4. 

These  Sections  proceed  to  teach — 

1st.  That  the  effect  of  this  hypostatical  union  upon 
the  human  nature  of  Christ,  although  not  deification,  is 
an  incomparable  exaltation  and  glorification. 

2d.  That  Christ  is  Mediator,  and  discharges  all  the 
functions  of  that  office,  not  as  Lord  nor  as  man,  but  as 
God-man. 

3d.  That  he  was  appointed  to  this  office  by  the  Father, 
and  acts  in  it  upon  an  authority  derived  from  the  Father. 

4th.  That  nevertheless  he  took  this  office  upon  him- 
self, and  all  involved  in  it,  voluntarily. 

5th.  That  he  discharged  its  functions  in  his  estate  of 


198  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

humiliation,  which  consisted  (a)  in  his  being  Lorn,  and 
that  in  a  low  condition ;  (b)  his  being  made  under  the 
law  and  rendering  perfect  obedience  to  it;  (c)  under- 
going the  miseries  of  this  life,  the  wrath  of  God  and 
the  cursed  death  of  the  cross ;  (cl)  in  his  being  buried 
and  continuing  under  the  power  of  death  for  a  time. 

6th.  He  discharged  the  functions  of  the  mediatorial 
office,  also,  in  his  estate  of  exaltation,  which  consisted  in 
(a)  his  rising  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day,  (6)  in  his 
ascending  up  into  heaven,  (c)  in  his  sitting  at  the  right 
hand  of  God  the  Father,  where  he  intercedes  for  and 
reigns  over  all  things  in  behalf  of  his  people,  and  (d) 
in  his  coining  to  judge  the  world  at  the  last  day. 

1st.  The  effect  of  this  hypostatical  union  upon  the 
human  nature  of  Christ  was  not  to  deify  it,  since,  as  we 
saw  above,  the  human  nature  as  well  as  the  divine  na- 
ture remains  pure,  separate  and  unchanged  after  as 
before.  But  the  effect  of  this  union  was  (1)  to  exalt 
the  human  nature  of  Christ  to  a  degree  of  dignity  and 
honour  greatly  beyond  that  attained  by  any  other  crea- 
ture. (2.)  To  fill  it  with  a  perfection  of  intellectual  and 
moral  excellence  beyond  that  of  any  other  creature.  The 
Father  gave  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  unto  him.  John 
iii.  34.  It  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all 
fulness  dwell.  Col.  i.  19. 

His  person,  therefore,  possessed  all  the  properties  be- 
longing to  absolute  divinity,  and  an  all-perfect  and 
incomparably  exalted  manhood,  and  was  thoroughly 
furnished  to  execute  the  office  of  Mediator  and  Surety. 

2d.  Hence  Christ  was  Mediator,  and  discharged  all 
the  functions  of  that  office,  not  as  God,  nor  as  man,  but 
as  God-man.     As  this  point  is  more  directly  called  up 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  199 

by  the  seventh  Section  of  this  Chapter,  it  will  be  con- 
sidered in  that  place. 

3d.  That  Christ  was  appointed  to  this  office  by  the 
Father,  and  acts  in  it  upon  an  authority  derived  from  the 
Father,  is  very  prominently  as  well  as  clearly  set  forth 
in  Scripture  :  "  As  no  man  taketh  this  honour  upon  him- 
self,  but  he  that  was  called  of  God  as  was  Aaron,  so 
also  Christ  glorified  not  himself  to  be  made  an  high 
priest,  but  he  was  called  of  God  a  high  priest  after  the 
order  of  Melchizedec."  Heb.  v.  4-10.  Christ  constantly 
affirms  that  he  was  "  sent  by  the  Father ;"  that  the 
Father  was  given  in  him  "a  commandment ;"  that  the 
"  works  "  which  he  performed  and  the  "  words  "  which 
he  spoke  were  not  his,  but  the  Father's  that  sent  him. 
"  I  can  of  mine  own  self  do  nothing.  As  I  hear  I 
judge;  and  my  judgment  is  just,  because  I  seek  not 
mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  the  Father  which  hath 
sent  me."  John  v.  30.  "  Jesus  answered  and  said,  My 
doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me."  John  vii.  16. 
"  If  ye  loved  me,  ye  would  rejoice,  because  I  said,  I  go 
unto  the  Father,  for  my  Father  is  greater  than  I."  John 
xiv.  24,  28,  31 ;  x.  18  ;  xii.  49  ;  iv.  34. 

The  Eternal  Word  is  of  the  same  identical  substance 
with  and  equal  to  the  Father  in  power  and  glory.  But 
the  God-man,  in  his  official  relations  and  works,  is  offi- 
cially, and  as  far  as  concerns  these  relations  and  actions 
alone,  inferior  to  the  Father — sent  by  his  authority t 
acting  for  him,  returning  and  accounting  to  him. 

4th.  That  nevertheless  Christ  took  this  office  and  all 
it  involved  upon  himself  voluntarily  is  very  evident, 
because  (1)  otherwise  being  absolute  God  it  could  never 
have  been  imposed  upon  him.     (2.)  Because  otherwise 


200  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

his  obedience  and  suffering  could  not  have  vicariously 
availed  for  us.  (3.)  Because  otherwise  the  execution 
of  the  law  upon  him  would  have  been  outrageously 
unjust.  (4.)  Because  it  is  expressly  declared.  Speak- 
ing of  his  life,  he  said,  "  No  man  taketh  it  from  me, 
but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself.  I  have  power  to  lay  it 
down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again."  John  x.  18. 
The  motive  which  impelled  him  to  the  self-sacrificing 
undertaking  was  a  personal  love  for  his  people  "  that 
passeth  knowledge."  Gal.  ii.  20;  Eph.  iii.  19;  v.  2. 

5th.  Christ  discharged  the  functions  of  the  mediato- 
rial office  in  his  estate  of  humiliation,  which  consists — 
(1.)  In  his  being  born  and  that  in  a  low  condition.  It 
is  evident  that  nothing  could  be  added  to  the  divine 
perfections  by  the  assumption  of  a  human  nature  into  a 
personal  relation.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  an  act  of 
infinite  condescension  on  the  part  of  the  Godhead  of 
Jesus,  and  of  transcendent  and  permanent  benefit  to  the 
whole  intelligent  creation,  that  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead  should  be  contained  in  him  bodily,  and  so 
revealed  under  the  limitations  of  a  finite  nature.  For 
it  is  only  thus  that  the  infinite  can  be  "seen  and  known/' 
"  tasted  and  handled,"  and  that  of  its  "  fulness  we  may 
all  receive,  and  grace  for  grace."  John  i.  16,  18  ;  1 
John  i.  1. 

(2.)  In  his  being  made  under  the  law,  and  rendering 
perfect  obedience  to  it.  The  law  lays  its  claims  not 
upon  natures,  but  upon  persons.  The  person  of  Christ 
was  eternal  and  divine.  Personally,  therefore,  he  was 
the  norm,  the  Author  and  Lord  of  the  law,  his  divine 
perfections  being  the  necessary  and  supreme  law  to  him- 
self and  to  the  universe  he  had  made.     Therefore  he 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  201 

owed  nothing  to  the  law,  since  the  law  was  conformed 
to  hiin7  not  he  to  the  law. 

But,  as  we  have  seen  chap,  vii.,  §  3,  in  the  covenant 
of  grace  the  Mediator  assumes  in  behalf  of  his  elect 
seed  the  broken  conditions  of  the  old  covenant  of  works 
precisely  as  Adam  left  them.  In  that  covenant  punish- 
ment was  conditioned  upon  disobedience,  and  life  and 
blessedness  upon  obedience.  Therefore  it  was  necessary 
that  the  "second  Adam"  should  render  vicarious  obedi- 
ence in  order  to  secure  for  his  people  the  promised  reward, 
as  well  as  that  he  should  suffer  the  penalty  in  order 
to  secure  for  them  the  remission  of  sins.  By  Christ's 
suffering  (passive  obedience),  our  Confession  teaches,  he 
purchases  for  us  reconciliation,  while  by  his  fulfilling 
the  precepts  of  the  law  (active  obedience)  he  purchases 
for  us  "  an  everlasting  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  Chap,  viii.,  §  5. 

Christ,  therefore,  was  "  made  under  the  law,"  Gal.  iv. 
4,  5,  (a)  not  as  a  rule  of  righteousness  but  as  a  condi- 
tion of  blessedness,  "to  redeem  them  that  are  under  the 
law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons."  (b.) 
Not  for  himself,  but  officially  as  our  representative,  (c.) 
His  whole  obedience  of  that  law  was  vicarious — instead 
of  our  obedience  and  for  our  sakes.  "  By  the  obedience 
of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous."  Rom.  v.  19. 

(3.)  His  undergoing  the  miseries  of  this  life,  the 
wrath  of  God  and  the  cursed  death  of  the  cross.  Christ 
was  the  representative  of  his  people,  and  all  his  obedi- 
ence and  suffering  was  vicarious  from  his  birth  until  all 
the  conditions  of  the  covenant  of  life  were  fulfilled. 
All  his  earthly  career  was  in  one  aspect  suffering,  in 
another  aspect  obedience.     As  suffering,  it  was  a  vicari- 


202  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

ous  endurance  of  the  penalty  of  sin.  As  obedience,  it 
was  the  discharge  in  the  stead  and  behalf  of  his  people 
of  that  condition  upon  which  their  eternal  inheritance 
is  suspended.  The  two  were  never  separated  in  fact. 
They  are  only  the  two  legal  aspects  presented  by  the 
same  life  of  suffering  obedience.  The  essence  of  the 
penalty  vicariously  borne  by  Christ  was  the  "  wrath  of 
God."  The  incidents  of  it  were  "the  miseries  of  this 
life.7'  The  culmination  of  it  was  "  the  cursed  death  of 
the  cross."  Gen.  ii.  17;  Heb.  ix.  22. 

(4.)  In  his  being  buried  and  continuing  under  the 
power  of  death  for  a  time.  In  the  Creed  commonly 
called  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  adopted  by  all  the 
churches,  this  last  stage  of  the  humiliation  of  Christ 
is  expressed  by  the  phrase,  "  He  descended  into  hell" 
(Hades,  the  invisible  world).  This  means  precisely 
what  our  Confession  affirms,  that  while  the  body  of 
Jesus  remained  buried  in  the  sepulchre  his  soul  re- 
mained temporarily  divorced  from  it  in  the  unseen 
world  of  spirits. 

Some  (as  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  pp.  333-371),  have 
held  that  as  Christ  died  vicariously  as  a  sinner,  so,  in 
order  to  fulfil  the  law  of  death,  his  soul  went  tem- 
porarily to  the  place  where  the  souls  of  those  who  die 
for  their  own  sins  die  the  second  death  for  ever.  t 

The  Lutherans  teach  that  the  descent  of  the  God-man 
into  hell,  in  order  to  triumph  over  Satan  and  his  angels 
in  the  very  citadel  of  his  kingdom,  was  the  first  step  in 
his  exaltation.     Form,  of  Concord,  Part  II.,  chap.  ix. 

The  Romanists  teach  that  Christ  went,  while  his 
body  was  in  the  grave,  to  that  department  of  Hades 
(invisible   world)  which  they  call  the  Limbus  Patrun, 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  203 

where  the  believers  under  the  old  dispensation  were 
gathered,  to  preach  the  gospel  to  them,  and  to  take 
them  with  him  to  the  heaven  he  had  prepared  for  them. 
Cat.  of  the  Conn,  of  Trent,  Part  L,  art.  5. 

6th.  He  executed  the  functions  of  his  mediatorial 
office,  also,  in  his  estate  of  exaltation,  which  consisted — 
(1.)  In  his  rising  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day.  The 
fact  of  his  resurrection  is  proved,  (a.)  Predicted  in 
Old  Testament.  Compare  Ps.  xvi.  10;  Acts  ii.  24-31. 
(b.)  Christ  himself  predicted  it.  Matt.  xx.  19 ;  John  x. 
IS.  (c.)  The  witness  of  the  eleven  apostles.  Acts  i.  3. 
(d.)  The  separate  testimony  of  Paul.  1  Cor.  xv.  8;  Gal. 
i.  12;  Acts  ix.  3-8.  (e.)  He  was  seen  by  five  hundred 
brethren  at  once.  1  Cor.  xv.  6.  (/.)  The  miracles 
wrought  by  the  apostles  in  attestation  of  the  fact.  Heb. 
ii.  4.  (g.)  The  witness  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Acts  v.  32. 
(Ji.)  The  change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week. 

The  importance  of  the  fact  is  proved  to  be  funda- 
mental, (a.)  The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  pledge 
for  the  fulfilment  of  all  the  prophecies  and  promises  of 
both  Testaments.  (6.)  It  proved  him  to  be  the  Son  of 
God,  because  it  authenticated  his  claims,  and  because  he 
rose  by  his  own  power.  John  ii.  19  ;  x.  17.  (c.)  It  was 
a  public  acceptance  of  this  mediatorial  work  in  our  be- 
half by  the  Father.  Rom.  vi.  25.  (d.)  Hence  we  have 
an  advocate  with  the  Father.  Rom.  viii.  34.  (e.)  "  If 
Christ  lives,  wTe  shall  live  also."  John  xiv.  ]  9  ;  1  Pet.  i. 
3-5 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  21,  22.  (/.)  His  resurrection  secures 
ours.  Rom.  viii.  11;  1  Cor.  vi.  15;  xv.  49;  Phil,  iii, 
21  ;  1  John  iii.  2.* 

*  Dr.  Charles  Hodge. 


204  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

(2.)  In  his  ascending  up  into  heaven.  This  took  placa 
forty  days  after  his  resurrection,  from  a  portion  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives  near  to  Bethany,  in  the  presence  of  the 
eleven  apostles  and  possibly  other  disciples.  He  as- 
cended as  Mediator,  triumphing  over  his  enemies  and 
giving  gifts  to  his  friends  (Eph.  iv.  8-12)  to  complete 
his  mediatorial  work,  as  the  forerunner  of  his  people 
(John  xiv.  2,  3;  Heb.  vi.  20),  to  fill  the  universe  with 
the  manifestations  of  his  power  and  glory.  Eph.  iv.  10. 

(3.)  In  his  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the 
Father,  where  he  intercedes  for,  and  reigns  over  all 
things  in  the  behalf  of,  his  people.  The  passages  which 
speak  of  this  session  of  the  Mediator  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father  are,  Ps.  xvi.  11  ;  ex.  1 ;  Dan.  vii.  13,  14; 
Matt.  xxvi.  64;  Mark  xvi.  19;  John  v.  22;  Rom.  viii. 
34;  Eph.  i.  20,  22;  Phil.  ii.  9-11 ;  Col.  iii.  1 ;  Heb.  i. 
3,  4 ;  ii.  9  ;  x.  12 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  22 ;  Rev.  v.  6.  This  right 
hand  of  God  denotes  the  official  exaltation  of  the  Me- 
diator to  supreme  glory,  felicity  and  dominion  over 
every  name  that  is  named.  It  is,  moreover,  a  definite 
place,  since  the  finite  soul  and  body  of  Christ  must  be 
in  a  definite  place,  and  there  his  glory  is  revealed  and 
his  authority  exercised.  There  he  intercedes  for  his 
people,  a  priest  upon  his  throne  (Zech.  vi.  13);  and 
hence  he  effectually  applies  to  his  people,  by  his  Spirit, 
that  salvation  which  he  had  previously  achieved  for 
them  in  his  estate  of  humiliation. 

With  the  presentation  of  "his  own  blood"  (Heb.  ix. 
12,  24)  he  pleads  for  those  who  are  embraced  in  his  cov- 
enant, and  for  those  blessings  in  their  behalf  which,  in 
that  covenant,  were  conditioned  upon  his  obedience  and 
Buffering.  John  xvii.  9;  Luke  xxii.  32;  see  John  xvii. 


CHRIST    THE    MEDIATOR.  205 

His    intercession  is   always   prevalent,   and   successful. 
John  ii.  42  j  Ps.  xxi.  2. 

(4.)  In  his  coming  to  judge  the  world  at  the  last  day 
This  will  be  discussed  in  its  proper  place  under  Chapter 
^xxiii. 

Section  V. — The  Lord  Jesus,  by  his  perfect  obedience  and 
sacrifice  of  himself,  which  he  through  the  eternal  Spirit  once  of- 
fered up  unto  God,  hath  full}7'  satisfied  the  justice  of  his  Father,34 
and  purchased  not  only  reconciliation,  but  an  everlasting  inherit- 
ance in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  for  all  those  whom  the  Father 
hath  given  unto  him.35 

Section  VI. — Although  the  work  of  redemption  was  not  ac- 
tually wrought  by  Christ  till  after  his  incarnation,  yet  the  virtue, 
efficacy  and  benefits  thereof  were  communicated  unto  the  elect  in 
all  ages  successively  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  in  and  by 
those  promises,  types  and  sacrifices  wherein  he  was  revealed  and 
signified  to  be  the  Seed  of  the  woman  which  should  bruise  the 
serpent's  head,  and  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  being  yesterday  and  to-day  the  same,  and  for  ever.36 

34  Rom.  v.  19;  Heb.  ix.  14,  16;  x.  14;  Eph.  v.  2;  Rom.  iii.  25,  26.— 
*5  Dan.  ix.  24,  26;  Col.  i.  19,  20;  Eph.  i.  11, 14;  John  xvii.  2;  Heb.  ix.  12, 
15.—36  Gai.  iv.  4,  5 ;  Gen.  iii.  15;  Rev.  xiii.  8;  Heb.  xiii.  8. 

Compare  Chapter  xi.,  §  3  :  "  Christ,  by  his  obedience 
and  death,  did  fully  discharge  the  debt  of  all  those  that 
are  thus  justified,  and  did  make  a  proper,  real  and  full 
satisfaction  to  his  Father's  justice  in  their  behalf." 

These  Sections  teach  us  of  the  effects  of  Christ's  me- 
diatorial work  on  earth  : 

1st.  That  Christ  made  satisfaction  in  behalf  of  those 
whom  he  represented  (a)  by  his  obedience,  (b)  by  his 
sacrifice  of  himself. 

2d.  That  Christ  has  in  strict  rigour  fully  satisfied  all 
the  demands  of  divine  justice  upon  those  whom  he 
represents. 


206  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

3d.  That  thus  he  has,  according  to  the  terras  of  the 
eternal  covenant,  not  only  secured,  in  behalf  o  *  those 
whom  he  represented,  remission  of  sins  and  propitiation 
of  divine  wrath,  but  also  an  everlasting  inheritance  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

4th.  That  although  this  perfect  satisfaction  was  ren- 
dered in  his  obedience  and  suffering  only  subsequently 
to  his  incarnation,  yet  the  full  benefits  thereof  had  been 
applied  to  each  of  the  elect  severally  in  their  successive- 
generations  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  through  the  varying 
forms  of  truth  to  them  made  known. 

1st.  That  Christ  made  satisfaction  for  those  whom  he 
represented,  both  by  his  obedience  and  by  his  sacrifice 
of  himself,  has  been  shown  above,  Chapter  vii.,  §  3,  and 
viii.,  §  4.  This  truth  is  taught  in  the  Confessions  of  all 
the  churches,  Lutheran  and  Reformed.  The  Heidel- 
berg Catechism,  one  of  the  most  generally  adopted  of  all 
the  Reformed  Confessions,  says,  Question  60  :  "  God, 
without  any  merit  of  mine,  but  only  of  mere  grace, 
grants  and  imputes  to  me  the  perfect  satisfaction,  right- 
eousness and  holiness  of  Christ,  ...  as  if  I  had  fully 
accomplished  all  that  obedience  which  Christ  hath  ac- 
complished for  me." 

The  Formula  of  Concord,  a  Lutheran  Confession, 
says :  "  Since  Christ  was  not  only  man,  but  God  and 
man  in  one  undivided  person,  so  he  was  not  subject  to 
the  law,  nor  obnoxious  to  suffering  and  death,  because 
lie  was  Lord  of  the  law.  On  which  account  his  obe- 
dience is  imputed  to  us  ;  so  that  God  on  account  of  that 
whole  obedience  (which  Christ  by  his  acting  and  by  his 
suffering,  in  his  life  and  in  his  death,  for  our  sake  ren- 
dered to  his  Father  who  is  in  heaven)  remits  our  sins, 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  207 

reputes  us  as  good  and  just  and  gives  us  eternal  salva- 
tion." 

2d.  Christ  thus  has,  in  strict  rigour,  fully  satisfied  all 
the  demands  of  divine  justice  upon  those  whom  he 
represents.  As  we  saw  (Chapter  ii.,  §§  1,  2)  the  essen- 
tial justice  of  the  divine  nature  demands  the  punish- 
ment of  sin.  It  demands  also  that  the  condition  of  the 
original  covenant  of  works  should  be  fulfilled  before  the 
reward  is  granted.  The  latter,  Christ  does  by  his  obe- 
dience. The  former,  he  suffers  in  the  sorrows  of  his 
life  and  death.  Christ  suffered  as  the  representative  of 
sinners.  Our  sins  were  laid  upon  him.  He  redeemed 
us  from  the  curse  of  the  law  by  being  made  a  curse 
for  us.  Pie  died  the  just  for  the  unjust.  He  is  the 
propitiation  (expiation)  for  our  sins.  He  gave  his  life 
a  ransom  for  many.  We  are  bought  with  a  price.  Gal. 
iii.  13;  1  Pet,  iii.  18;  1  John  ii.  2;  Matt.  xx.  28;  1 
Tim.  ii.  6.  Christ  suffered  only  in  his  single  human 
soul  and  body,  and  only  for  a  time.  Nevertheless,  his 
person  was  the  infinite  and  transcendently  glorious  per- 
son of  the  eternal  Son  of  God.  Consequently  his  suffer- 
ings were  precisely  both  in  kind  and  degree  what  the 
infinite  righteous  wisdom  of  God  saw  to  be  in  strict 
rigour  a  full  equivalent  in  respect  to  the  demands  of 
legal  justice,  for  the  eternal  sufferings  of  all  for  whom 
he  suffered.  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  whole  Christian 
Church.  The  "Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of 
England,"  say,  Art.  31  :  "  The  offering  of  Christ,  once 
made,  is  that  perfect  redemption,  propitiation  and  satis- 
faction for  all  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  both  original 
and  actual." 

The  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  2.  5-63* 


208  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

"Whatever  is  due  by  us  to  God  on  account  of  our  sins 
has  been  paid  abundantly,  although  he  should  deal  with 

us  according  to  the  strictest  rigour  of  his  justice 

For  it  we  are  indebted  to  Christ  alone,  who  having  paid 
the  price  of  our  sins  on  the  cross,  most  fully  satisfied 
God." 

3d.  That  thus  he  has,  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
everlasting  covenant,  not  only  secured  in  behalf  of  those 
whom  he  represented  remission  of  sins  and  propitiation 
of  divine  wrath,  but  also  an  everlasting  inheritance  in 
the  kingdom  of  glory.  The  sufferings  of  Christ  secure 
the  remission  of  the  penalty,  and  by  his  active  obedience, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  covenant  made  with  Adam 
and  assumed  by  Christ,  he  purchases  a  right  to  life  and 
eternal  blessedness.  That  he  has  so  purchased  eternal 
life  for  all  those  in  whose  stead  he  rendered  obedience, 
is  proved  from  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  habitually 
set  forth  the  truth  that  "the  adoption  of  sons"  and 
"eternal  life"  are  given  to  the  believer  freely  for 
Christ's  sake,  as  elements  of  that  purchased  possession 
of  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  earnest.  Eph.  i.  11-13; 
Rom.  viii.  15,  17;  Gal.  i.  4;  iii.  13,  14;  iv.  4,5;  Eph. 
v.  25-27  ;  Tit.  iii.  5,  6  ;  Rev.  i.  5,  6 ;  v.  9,  10. 

This  proves  therefore  (1)  that  Christ  did  not  die 
simply  to  make  the  salvation  of  those  for  whom  he  died 
possible — i.  e.,  to  remove  legal  obstructions  to  their  sal- 
vation— but  he  died  with  the  design  and  effect  of 
actually  securing  their  salvation  and  of  endowing  them 
gratuitously  with  an  inalienable  title  to  heaven.  (2.) 
It  proves  in  the  second  place  that  the  vicarious  sufferings 
of  Christ  must  have  been  in  design  and  effect,  personal 
and  defii  ite  as  to  their  object.     Salvation   must  be  ap- 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  209 

plied  to  all  those  for  whom  it  was  purchased.  Since 
not  the  possibility  or  opportunity  for  reconciliation,  but 
actual  reconciliation  itself  was  purchased ;  since  not 
only  reconciliation,  but  a  title  to  an  eternal  inheritance 
was  purchased,  it  follows  (a)  that  "  to  all  those  for 
whom  Christ  hath  purchased  redemption,  he  doth  cer- 
tainly and  effectually  apply  and  communicate  the  same." 
Conf.  Faith,  ch.  viii.  §  8.  And  (6)  that  he  who  never 
receives  the  inheritance,  and  to  whom  .the  purchased 
grace  is  never  applied,  is  not  one  of  the  persons  for 
whom  it  was  purchased. 

4th.  That  although  this  satisfaction  was  rendered  by 
Christ  only  after  his  incarnation,  yet  the  full  benefits 
thereof  had  been  applied  to  each  of  the  elect  severally 
in  their  successive  generations  from  the  beginning,  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  through  the  various  forms  of  truth  to 
them  made  known.  This  has  been  at  length  proved 
and  illustrated,  Chapter  vii.  §§  5,  6. 

Section  VII. — Christ  in  the  work  of  mediation,  acteth  accord- 
ing to  both  natures  ;  by  each  nature  doing  that  which  is  proper 
to  itself;37  yet  by  reason  of  the  unity  of  the  person,  that  which  is 
proper  to  one  nature  is  sometimes  in  Scripture  attributed  to  the 
person  denominated  by  the  other  nature.38 

«  Heb.  is.  14;  1  Pet.  iii.  18.— M  Acts  xx.  23 ;  John  iii.  13;  1  John  iii.  16. 

Under  Section  ii.  we  saw  that  (a)  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was  a  true  man.  (6.)  That  he  was  true  God.  (c.)  That 
he  was  nevertheless  one  single  Person,  (d.)  That  his 
personality  is  eternal  and  divine,  his  human  nature 
having  been  generated  into  the  pre-existent  person  of 
the  Son.  (e.)  That  these  two  natures  remain  one  Per- 
son, yet  distinct  and  unchanged  divinity  and  humanity, 

14 


210  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

without  mixture  or  confusion.  This  Section  proceeds 
to  state — 

1st.  That  all  Christ's  mediatorial  actions  involve  the 
concurrent  activities  of  both  natures,  each  nature  con- 
tributing that  which  is  proper  to  itself. 

Thus  the  divine  nature  of  Christ  is  that  fountain 
from  which  his  revelation  as  prophet  is  derived.  Other 
prophets  reflect  his  light,  or  transmit  what  they  receive 
from  him.  He  is  the  original  source  of  all  divine 
knowledge.  At  the  same  time  his  humanity  is  the 
form  through  which  his  Godhead  is  revealed,  his  flesh 
the  veil  through  which  its  glory  is  transmitted.  His 
person  as  incarnate  God  is  the  focus  of  all  revelations — 
the  subject  as  well  as  the  organ  of  all  prophetical  teach- 
ing. 

Thus,  also,  the  human  nature  of  Christ  was  necessary 
in  order  that  his  person  should  be  "made  under  the 
law  •"  and  it  is  the  subject  of  his  vicarious  sufferings, 
and  the  organ  of  his  vicarious  obedience  and  intercession 
as  our  representative  Priest  and  Intercessor.  At  the 
same  time,  it  is  only  the  supreme  dignity  of  his  divine 
person  which  renders  his  obedience  supererogatory  and 
therefore  vicarious,  and  the  temporary  and  finite  suffer- 
ings of  his  humanity  a  full  equivalent  in  justice-satisfy- 
ing efficacy  for  the  eternal  sufferings  of  all  the  elect. 
Thus,  also,  the  activities  of  his  divinity  and  humanity 
are  constantly  and  beautifully  blended  in  all  his  admin- 
istrative acts  as  King.  The  last  Adam,  the  second  man, 
the  Head  of  a  redeemed  and  glorified  race,  the  First- 
born among  many  brethren,  he  has  dominion  over  all 
creatures ;  and,  with  a  human  heart  acting  out  through 
the  energies  of  divine  wisdom  and  power,  he  makes  all 


CHFJST    THE    MEDIATOR.  211 

things  work  together  for  the  accomplishment  of  his 
purposes  of  love. 

All  mediatorial  acts  are  therefore  to  be  attributed  to 
the  entire  person  of  the  Theanthropos — God-man.  And 
in  the  whole  of  his  glorious  Person  is  he  to  be  obeyed 
and  worshipped  by  angels  and  men. 

This  Section  teaches — 2d.  That,  because  of  the  unity 
of  both  natures  in  one  Person,  that  which  is  proper  to 
either  nature  belongs  of  course  to  that  one  Person  ;  and 
sometimes  in  Scripture  that  which  is  proper  to  one 
nature  is  attributed  to  the  Person  denominated  by  the 
other  nature.  Thus,  as  shown  above  under  Section  ii., 
the  Scriptures  often  say  that  God  shed  his  blood  for  his 
Church,  or  that  the  Son  of  Man  came  down  from 
heaven,  while  they  never  say  that  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  came  down  from  heaven,  or  that  his  divine  nature 
suffered  for  his  Church. 

Section  VIII. — To  all  those  for  whom  Christ  hath  purchased 
redemption,  he  doth  certainly  and  effectually  apply  and  commu- 
nicate the  same  ;S9  making  intercession  for  them  ;*°  and  revealing 
unto  them,  in  and  by  the  Word,  the  mysteries  of  salvation  ;41 
effectually  persuading  them  by  his  Spirit  to  believe  and  obey ; 
and  governing  their  hearts  by  his  Word  and  Spirit  ;42  overcoming 
all  their  enemies  by  his  almighty  power  and  wisdom,  in  such 
manner  and  ways  as  are  most  consonant  to  his  wonderful  and 
unsearchable  dispensation. iZ 

39  John  vi.  37,  39;  x.  15,  16.— 40  1  John  ii.  1,  2;  Rom.  viii.  34.— «  John 
xv.  13,  15;  Eph.  i.  7-9;  John  xvii.  6.— 42  John  xiv.  16;  Ileb.  xii.  2;  2  Cor. 
iv.  13;  Horn.  viii.  9,  14;  xv.  IS,  19;  John  xvii.  17.— «  Ps.  ex.  1;  1  Cor 
xv.  25,  26;  Mai.  iv.  2,  3;  Col.  ii.  15. 

This  Section  teaches — 

1st.  That  Christ,  as  mediatorial  King,  seated  at  the 


212  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

right  hand  of  God,  applies  the  redemption  he  had 
effected  as  Priest  to  the  proper  subjects  of  it.  This 
point  has  been  already  discussed  under  Chapter  vii.,  §  4, 
and  Chapter  viii.,  §§  1,  4,  when  we  were  treating  of 
Christ,  the  Head  and  Surety  of  the  covenant  and  media- 
torial King,  and  of  his  session  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 

2d.  That  he  proceeds  in  the  effectual  application  of 
redemption  in  the  use  of  each  of  the  four  following 
methods :  (a.)  By  making  intercession  for  the  persons 
concerned,  (b.)  By  the  revelation  of  the  mysteries  of 
salvation  to  them  in  his  Word,  (c.)  By  the  effectual 
operation  of  his  Spirit  on  their  hearts,  (d.)  By  all 
necessary  dispensations  of  his  providence.  The  discus- 
sion of  these  points  must  be  looked  for  under  the  several 
heads  of  "The  Holy  Scripture/'  "Providence/'  "God's 
Covenant  with  Man,"  "Christ  the  Mediator,"  "Effectual 
Calling,"  "Justification,"  etc. 

3d.  That  Christ  doth  certainly  and  effectually  apply 
and  communicate  redemption  to  ALL  those  for  whom 
he  hath  purchased  it. 

Our  Standards,  it  will  be  observed,  very  explicitly 
teach  that  Christ,  as  mediatorial  Priest,  made  expiation 
and  purchased  salvation  for  certain  definite  persons. 
Thus,  in  Chapter  iii.,  §  6,  it  is  said:  "As  God  hath 
appointed  the  elect  unto  glory,  so  hath  he,  by  the  eternal 
and  most  free  purpose  of  his  will,  foreordained  all  the 
means  thereunto.  Wherefore  they  that  are  elected,  being 
fallen  in  Adam,  are  redeemed  by  Christ.  .  .  .  Neither 
are  any  other  redeemed  by  Christ,  .  .  .  but  the  elect 
only."  Here  it  is  expressly  affirmed  (a)  that  Christ 
died  upon  the  cross  on  purpose  to  carry  out  the  eternal 
purpose  of  God  in  the  election  of  certain  individuals  to 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  213 

eternal  life,  (b.)  That  Christ  died  for  the  purpose  of 
saving  no  other  than  the  elect. 

In  Chapter  viii.,  §  5  :  "  The  Lord  Jesus,  by  his  per- 
fect obedience  and  sacrifice  of  himself,  ....  purchased 
not  only  reconciliation,  but  an  everlasting  inheritance 
in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  for  all  those  whom  the  Father 
hath  given  unto  him."  Here  it  is  expressly  taught — 
(a.)  That  the  design  of  Christ  in  dying  was  not  simply 
to  make  the  salvation  of  all  men  possible,  but  actually 
to  purchase  reconciliation  for  those  given  to  him  by  the 
Father.  (6.)  That  for  the  same  persons  Christ  actually 
purchases,  and  consequently  infallibly  secures,  an  eternal 
inheritance  in  heaven. 

In  Chapter  viii.,  §  8,  it  is  said  :  "  To  all  those  for 
whom  Christ  hath  purchased  redemption  he  doth  cer- 
tainly and  effectually  apply  and  communicate  the  same." 
L.  Cat.,  Q.  59  :  "  Redemption  is  certainly  applied  and 
effectually  communicated  to  all  those  for  whom  Christ 
hath  purchased  it."  When  this  Confession  was  written, 
the  phrase  "  to  purchase  redemption"  was  used  in  the 
sense  in  which  we  use  the  phrase  "  make  atonement  for 
sin."  So  it  was  so  used  by  Baxter  in  his  work,  "  Uni- 
versal Redemption  of  Mankind  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  and  by  Dr.  Isaac  Barrow  in  his  sermon  entitled 
"The  Doctrine  of  Universal  Redemption  Asserted  and 
Explained."  Dr.  Henry  B.  Smith,  in  his  edition  of 
Hagenbach,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  356,  357,  says  that  our  Confes- 
sion uses  the  phrase  in  the  same  sense. 

The  entire  truth  upon  this  subject,  as  set  forth  in  our 
Standards,  may  be  stated  summarily  in  the  following 
propositions : 

1st.  God   has   acted   from    the  beginning   in   all    his 


214  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

works  according  to  one  changeless,  all-comprehensive 
plan.  Being  infinitely  wise  and  powerful,  his  design  is 
always  fully  executed,  and  therefore  is  fully  revealed  in 
the  event.  God  therefore  intended  to  accomplish  by 
:he  vicarious  obedience  and  sufferings  of  Christ  pre- 
cisely what  he  does  accomplish — nothing  more  and 
nothing  less. 

2d.  The  satisfaction  rendered  by  Christ  is  amply 
sufficient  for  all  men  who  can  possibly  be  created. 

3d.  It  is  exactly  adapted  to  the  legal  relations  and 
wants  of  every  man — of  one  man  as  well  as  of  another. 

4th.  Hence  it  has  for  ever  removed  out  of  the  way 
all  legal  obstacles  to  God's  saving  any  man  he  wills  to 
save. 

5th.  That  it  is  freely,  authoritatively  and  in  good 
faith  offered  to  every  man  to  whom  the  gospel  comes. 

6th.  Hence  it  follows — (a.)  This  redemption  is  right- 
fully the  possession  of  any  man  whatsoever  who  accepts. 
(6.)  It  is  objectively  available  to  one  hearer  of  the 
gospel  as  much  as  to  another,  upon  the  single  condition 
of  acceptance. 

7th.  But,  since  all  men  are  dead  in  tresspasses  and 
sins,  no  man  accepts  it  except  those  to  whom  it  is  effect- 
ually applied  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

8th.  It  is  effectually  applied  precisely  to  those  per- 
sons to  whom  the  Father  and  Son  will  to  apply  it. 

9th.  Since  God's  purposes  are  all  eternal  and  immu- 
table, the  Father  and  Son  will  to  apply  it  now  precisely 
to  those  to  whom  they  designed  to  apply  it  when  Christ 
hung  upon  the  cross,  and  they  willed  to  apply  it  then 
precisely  to  those  to  whom  they  had  designed  to  apply 
it  from  eternity. 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  215 

10th.  Hence  it  follows — (a.)  Christ  died  with  the 
purpose  of  executing  the  decree  of  election.  (6.)  His 
design  in  making  atonement  was  definite,  having  respect 
to  certain  definite  persons — the  elect  and  none  others, 
'c.)  He  designed  to  secure  the  salvation  of  those  for 
whose  sake  he  rendered  satisfaction,  not  merely  to  make 
their  salvation  possible,  but  to  purchase  for  them  in- 
alienably faith  and  repentance,  actual  reconciliation  and 
the  adoption  of  sons,  etc.,  etc.  (d.)  He  in  time  applies  it 
effectually  and  certainly  to  all  those  for  whom  he  pur- 
chased it.     See  note  on  page  218. 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  truth  before  taught  which  is  reaffirmed 
in  the  first  Section  ? 

2.  What  is  the  second  truth  before  taught  which  is  here  re- 
affirmed ? 

3.  What  is  the  first  additional  proposition  taught  in  this 
Section  ? 

4.  What  is  the  second  here  taught  ? 

5.  What  is  the  third  f 

6.  What  is  a  Mediator,  and  in  what  sense  is  the  title  applied 
to  Christ  ? 

7.  What  is  it  necessary  as  respects  God  that  the  Mediator 
should  effect? 

3.  What  is  it  necessary  as  respects  man? 

9.  What  great  functions  are  necessarily  embraced  in  the  media- 
torial office  ? 

10.  What  relation  do  these  functions  sustain  to  one  another  ? 

11.  What  is  a  prophet,  and  what  were  the  special  character- 
istics of  Christ  as  a  prophet  ? 

12.  How  did  he  execute  the  functions  of  a  prophet? 

13.  Prove  the  last  answer. 

14.  What  were  the  essential  characteristics  of  a  priest? 

15.  How  did  Christ  execute  this  function? 


216  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

16.  State  the  proof  that  Christ  was  a  true  priest. 

17.  In  what  respects  was  his  priesthood  superior  to  that  of 
Aaron  ? 

18.  In  what  sense  was  he  a  priest  after  the  order  of  Mel- 
chisedec? 

19.  How  does  Christ  execute  the  function  of  a  king? 

20.  How  does  his  sovereignty  as  mediatorial  King  differ  from 
his  authority  as  God  ? 

21.  Prove  that  he  possesses  and  exercises  this  universal  media- 
torial dominion  now. 

22.  What  is  the  subject  of  the  third  Section? 

23.  What  is  the  first  proposition  which  it  teaches? 

24.  What  is  the  second  proposition  here  taught? 

25.  What  is  the  third? 

26.  What  is  the  fourth  f 

27.  What  is  the  fifth? 

28.  What  is  the  sixth  ? 

29.  How  is  this  doctrine  stated  in  the  Nicene  Creed? 

30.  How  is  it  stated  in  the  Athanasian  Creed  ? 

31.  Prove  that  Jesus  was  a  true  man. 

32.  Show  that  he  was  born  of  the  substance  of  his  mother. 

33.  Prove  that  he  was  absolutely  without  sin. 

34.  Prove  that  he  was  one  single  person. 

35.  How  do  the  Scriptures  apply  divine  and  human  titles  and 
predicates  to  Christ  ? 

36.  Is  the  personality  of  Christ  divine  or  human? 

37.  Prove  that  his  person  is  divine  and  eternal. 

38.  What  relation  does  his  humanity  sustain  to  the  Person? 

39.  In  what  different  ways  have  heretics  striven  to  explain  the 
relation  of  the  two  natures  in  the  one  person  of  Christ  ? 

40.  Prove  that  the  natures  always  remain  unmixed  and  un- 
changed. 

41.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  third  and  fourth 
Sections? 

42.  What  is  the  second  proposition  taught? 

43.  What  is  the  third  f 

44.  What  is  the  fourth  ? 

45.  What  is  the  fifth  ? 


CHRIST   THE   MEDIATOR.  217 

46.  What  is  the  sixth  proposition  taught? 

47.  What  was  the  effect  of  the  hypostatical  union  upon  the 
human  nature  of  Christ? 

48.  Was  Christ  Mediator  as  God  or  man? 

49.  Who  appointed  Christ  to  this  office,  and  by  what  authority 
does  he  act  ? 

50.  In  what  sense  is  Christ  subordinate  to  the  Father  ? 

51.  Prove  that  Christ  took  this  office  upon  himself  voluntarily. 

52.  In  what  two  different  estates  did  Christ  execute  the  office 
of  Mediator? 

53.  Why  was  his  being  born  an  act  of  humiliation? 

54.  In  what  sense  was  he  made  under  the  law,  and  in  what 
sense  did  he  render  perfect  obedience  to  it  ? 

55.  What  was  the  design  and  significance  of  his  undergoing 
the  miseries  of  this  life,  the  wrath  of  God  and  the  cursed  death 
of  the  cross? 

56.  What  different  explanations  have  been  given  of  the  phrase 
in  the  Creed,  "  He  descended  into  hell?" 

57.  What  is  the  explanation  given  in  the  Confession  ? 

58.  How  is  the  fact  of  Christ's  resurrection  proved? 

59.  Show  why  this  fact  is  of  fundamental  importance. 

60.  When,  how  and  for  what  purpose  did  he  ascend  to 
heaven  ? 

51.  What  is  meant  by  saying  he  sits  at  the  right  hand  of 
God? 

62.  For  what  great  purpose  does  he  assume  and  exercise  this 
authority  and  power? 

63.  In  what  manner,  for  whom,  for  what  and  with  what  effect 
does  he  intercede  ? 

64.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  Sections  v.  and  vi.  ? 

65.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

66.  What  is  the  third  f 

67.  Whatisthe/ourtftf 

68.  In  what  two  ways  did  Christ  make  satisfaction  for  us  ? 

69.  How  is  this  truth  stated  in  the  Ileidelburg  Catechism  and 
Formula  of  Concord? 

70.  Prove  that  Christ  has  in  strict  rigour  fully  satisfied  the 
justice  of  God. 


218  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

71.  How  is  this  stated  in  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land and  in  the  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent  ? 

72.  Prove  that  Christ  died  to  purchase  not  only  reconciliation, 
but  an  eternal  inheritance,  for  those  for  whom  he  acted. 

73.  Show  that  Christ  did  not  die  to  make  salvation  possible, 
but  actually  to  save. 

74.  Show  that  Christ  died  with  the  intention  of  saving  certain 
definite  persons. 

75.  Prove  that  the  satisfaction  of  Christ  avails  for  those  who 
died  before  his  advent. 

76.  Prove  that  both  the  humanity  and  the  divinity  of  Christ 
are  necessarily  exercised  in  all  his  mediatorial  functions — pro- 
phetical, priestly  and  kingly. 

77.  To  what  subject,  therefore,  are  all  mediatorial  actions  to  be 
ascribed  ? 

78.  What  is  the  first  point  taught  in  Section  viii.  ? 

79.  What  is  the  second  point  there  taught? 

80.  What  is  the  third  point  there  taught? 

81.  In  what  three  places  and  in  what  three  forms  do  our 
standards  teach  that  Christ  suffered  with  the  design  of  saving 
certain  definite  persons? 

82.  What  do  our  Standards  teach  as  to  the  sufficiency,  the 
adaptability  and  the  universal  offer  and  availability  of  the  re- 
demption of  Christ? 

83.  What  do  they  teach  as  to  the  design  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son  in  the  act  of  redemption  ? 

84.  What  do  they  teach  of  the  certainty  of  its  application  to 
all  for  whom  it  was  originally  designed  ? 

Note.— Mr.  Calaniy,  who  represented  the  most  moderate  Calvinism 
entertained  by  any  members  of  the  Assembly,  said  (see  Mitchell's 
"Minutes  of  West.  Ass.,  ed.  1874,  p.  152),  "I  am  far  from  universal 
redemption  in  the  Arminian  sense,  but  that  I  hold  is  in  the  sense  of 
our  divines  in  the  Synod  of  Dort,  that  Christ  did  pay  a  price  for  all- 
absolute  for  the  elect,  conditional  intention  for  the  reprobate,  in  case 
they  do  believe — that  all  men  should  be  salvibiles  non  obstante  lapsu 
Adami." 


CHAPTER    IX. 


OF    FREE    WILL. 


Section  I. — God  hath  endued  the  will  of  man  with  that 
natural  liberty  that  it  is  neither  forced,  nor  by  any  absolute  ne- 
cessity of  nature  determined,  to  good  or  evil.1 

1  Matt.  xvii.  12;  James  i.  14;  Deut.  xxx.  19. 

This  Section  teaches  the  great  fundamental  truth  of 
consciousness  and  revelation,  which  renders  moral  gov- 
ernment possible;  that  man,  in  virtue  of  his  creation,  is 
endowed  with  an  inalienable  faculty  of  self-determina- 
tion, the  power  of  acting  or  not  acting,  and  of  acting 
in  the  way  which  the  man  himself,  upon  the  whole 
view  of  the  case,  desires  at  the  time.  There  are  only 
three  generically  different  views  upon  this  subject  pos- 
sible : 

1st.  That  which  regards  the  actions  of  men  as  caused 
directly  by  outward  circumstances  and  occasions,  under 
the  same  great  law  of  necessity  which  governs  the  move- 
ments of  all  material  agents. 

2d.  That  affected  by  the  Arminians  and  others,  which 
regards  the  will  in  man,  or  his  bare  faculty  of  volition, 
as  possessing  a  mysterious  capacity  of  self-determination, 
irrespective  of  all  the  judgments  of  the  understanding 
and  the  affections  of  the  heart  and  the  entire  state  of 
the;  man's  soul  at  the  time. 

219 


220  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

3d.  That  which  is  taught  in  this  Section — namely, 
that  the  human  soul,  including  all  its  instincts,  ideas, 
judgments,  affections  and  tendencies,  has  the  power  of 
self-decision ;  that  is,  the  soul  decides  in  every  case  as, 
upon  the  whole,  it  pleases. 

That  the  first-stated  view  is  not  true  is  proved — (1.) 
From  the  universal  consciousness  of  men  with  respect 
to  their  own  action,  and  observation  of  the  action  of 
other  men.  We  are  all  conscious  of  possessing  the 
power  of  determining  our  own  action  irrespective  of  any 
or  of  all  external  influences.  In  every  case  of  delibe- 
rate choice  we  are  conscious  that  we  might  have  chosen 
the  opposite  if  we  had  wished  to  do  so,  all  outward 
circumstances  remaining  unchanged.  We  see  that  all 
material  substances  act  only  as  they  are  acted  upon,  and 
in  the  same  conditions  invariably  act  in  the  same  way. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  see  that  our  fellow-men,  like 
ourselves,  possess,  without  exception,  the  power  of  orig- 
inating action,  and  that,  if  they  please,  they  act  very 
variously  under  the  same  circumstances.  Circum- 
stances, including  the  sum  total  of  conditions  and  rela- 
tions, control  the  action  of  all  material  agents,  while 
personal  agents  control  circumstances.  (2.)  The  same 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  man  is  held  responsible  alike 
by  his  own  conscience  and  by  God  for  his  own  action. 
This  evidently  could  not  be  the  case  if  his  action  was 
caused  by  circumstances,  and  not  freely  by  the  man 
himself. 

That  the  second  view,  which  supposes  that  a  man 
possesses  the  power  to  choose  without  respect  to  his 
judgments  or  inclinations,  is  not  true;  and  that  the 
third  view,  which  supposes  that  a  man  possesses  the 


FREE   WILL.  221 

inalienable  faculty  of  choosing  as  upon  the  whole  he 
judges  right  or  desirable,  is  true,  are  proved — 

(1.)  From  the  consideration  that  while  we  are  con- 
scious in  every  deliberate  act  of  choice  that  we  might 
have  chosen  otherwise,  all  the  external  conditions  being 
the  same,  we  always  feel  that  our  choice  was  determined 
by  the  sum-total  of  our  views,  feelings  and  tendencies 
at  the  time.  A  man  freely  chooses  what  he  wants  to 
choose.  He  would  not  choose  freely  if  he  chose  in  any 
other  way.  But  his  desire  in  the  premises  is  deter- 
mined by  his  whole  intellectual  and  emotional  state  at 
the  time. 

(2.)  It  is  plain  that  if  the  human  will  decided  in  any 
given  case  in  opposition  to  all  the  views  of  the  reason 
and  all  the  desires  of  the  heart,  however  free  the  vrill 
might  be,  the  man  would  be  a  most  pitiful  slave  to  a 
mere  irrational  and  immoral  power  of  willing. 

(3.)  All  men  judge  that  the  rational  and  moral  cha- 
racter of  any  act  results  from  the  purpose  or  desire,  the 
internal  state  of  mind  or  heart,  which  prompted  the  act. 
If  the  man  wills  in  any  given  case  in  opposition  to  all 
his  judgments  and  to  all  his  inclinations  of  every  kind, 
his  act  in  that  case  would  obviously  be  neither  rational 
nor  moral,  and  the  man  himself,  in  respect  to  that  act, 
would  be  neither  free  nor  responsible. 

(4.)  If  the  human  soul  had  the  power  to  act  thus  irre- 
spective of  its  entire  interior  intellectual  and  emotional 
condition  at  the  time,  such  action  could  neither  be  fore- 
seen nor  controlled  by  God,  nor  influenced  by  men,  and 
such  exercise  of  volitional  power  would  be  absolutely 
fortuitous.  It  would  sustain  no  eertain  relation  to  the 
character  of  the  agent.     Christ  taught,  in  opposition  te 


222  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

this,  that  human  action  is  determined  by  the  character 
of  the  agent  as  certainly  as  the  nature  of  the  fruit  is 
determined  by  the  nature  of  the  tree  from  which  it 
springs ;  and  that  the  only  way  to  change  the  character 
of  the  action  is  to  change  the  permanent  character  or 
moral  tendency  and  habit  of  the  heart  of  the  agent. 
Matt.  vii.  16-20;  xii.  33-35. 

Section  II. — Man,  in  his  state  of  innocency,  had  freedom  and 
power  to  will  and  to  do  that  which  is  good  and  well-pleasing  to 
God,2  but  yet  mutably,  so  that  he  might  fall  from  it.8 

Section  III.— Man,  by  his  fall  and  state  of  sin,  hath  wholly 
lost. all  ability  of  will  to  any  spiritual  good  accompanying  salva- 
tion;4 so  as  a  natural  man,  being  altogether  averse  from  that 
good,5  and  dead  in  sin,6  is  not  able,  by  his  own  strength,  to  con- 
vert himself,  or  to  prepare  himself  thereunto.7 

Section  IV. — When  God  converts  a  sinner  and  translates  him 
into  the  state  of  grace,  he  freeth  him  from  his  natural  bondage 
under  sin,8  and  by  his  grace  alone  enables  him  freely  to  will  and 
to  do  that  which  is  spiritually  good  ;9  yet  so  as  that,  by  reason  of 
his  remaining  corruption,  he  doth  not  perfectly  nor  only  will  that 
which  is  good,  but  doth  also  will  that  which  is  evil.10 

Section  V. — The  will  of  man  is  made  perfectly  and  immutably 
free  to  do  good  alone  in  the  state  of  glory  only.11 

2  Eccles.  vii.  29;  Gen.  i.  26.— 3  Gen.  ii.  16, 17;  iii.  6.—*  Rom.  v.  6;  viii. 
7;  John  xv.  5.—*  Rom.  iii.  10,  12.— 6  Eph.  ii.  1,  5;  Col.  ii.  13.— 1  John 
vi.  44,  65  ;  Eph.  ii.  2-5 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  14 ;  Tit.  iii.  3-5.— 8  Col.  i.  13  ;  John  viii. 
M,  36.— 9  Phil.  ii.  13 ;  Rom.  vi.  18,  22.— ™  Gal.  v.  17;  Rom.  vii.  15, 18, 19, 
2L,  23.— «  Eph.  iv.  13;  Heb.  xii.  23;  1  John  iii.  2;  Jude  24. 

These  Sections  briefly  state  and  contrast  the  various 
conditions  which  characterize  the  free  agency  of  man  in 
his  four  different  estates  of  innocency,  hereditary  sin, 
grace  and  glory.  In  all  these  estates  man  is  unchange- 
ably a  free,  responsible  agent,  and  in  all  cases  choosing 
or  refusing  as,  upon  the  whole,  he  prefers  to  do.      4. 


FREE   WILL.  223 

man's  volition  is  as  his  desires  are  in  the  given  ease. 
His  desires  in  any  given  case  are  as  they  are  determined 
to  be  by  the  general  and  permanent  tastes,  tendencies 
and  habitudes  of  his  character.  He  is  responsible  for 
his  desires,  because  they  are  determined  by  the  nature 
and  permanent  characteristics  of  his  own  soul.  He  is 
responsible  for  these,  because  they  are  the  tendencies 
and  qualities  of  his  own  nature.  If  these  are  immoral, 
he  and  his  actions  are  immoral.  If  these  are  holy,  he 
and  his  actions  are  holy. 

When  we  say  that  man  is  a  free  agent,  we  mean  (1) 
that  he  has  the  power  of  originating  action ;  that  he  is 
self-moved,  and  does  not  only  move  as  he  is  moved  upon 
from  without.  (2.)  That  he  always  wills  that  which, 
upon  the  whole  view  of  the  case  presented  by  his  under- 
standing at  the  time,  he  desires  to  will.  (3.)  That  man 
is  furnished  with  a  reason  to  distinguish  between  the 
true  and  the  false,  and  a  conscience  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  right  and  the  wrong,  in  order  that  his  desires 
and  consequent  volitions  may  be  both  rational  and 
righteous ;  and  yet  his  desires  are  not  necessarily  either 
rational  or  righteous,  but  they  are  formed  under  the 
light  of  reason  and  conscience,  either  conformable  or 
contrary  to  them,  according  to  the  permanent  habitual 
disposition  or  moral  character  of  the  soul  itself. 

1st.  Adam  in  his  estate  of  innocency  was  a  free  agerii 
created  with  holy  affections  and  moral  tendencies,  yet 
with  a  character  as  yet  unconfirmed,  capable  of  obedience, 
yet  liable  to  be  seduced  by  external  temptation,  and  by 
the  inordinate  excitement  of  the  propensions  of  his  animal 
nature,  such  as  in  their  proper  degree  and  due  subordina- 
tion are  innocent.     Of  this  state  of  a  holy  yet  fallible 


224  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

nature  we  have  no  experience,  and  consequently  very 
imperfect  comprehension. 

2d.  As  to  man's  present  estate,  our  Standards  teach 
(1)  that  man  is  still  a  free  agent,  and  able  to  will  as  upon 
the  whole  he  desires  to  will.  (2.)  That  he  has  likewise 
ability  to  discharge  many  of  the  natural  obligations 
which  spring  out  of  his  relations  to  his  fellow-men.  (3.) 
That  his  soul  by  reason  of  the  fall  being  morally  cor- 
rupted and  spiritually  dead,  his  understanding  being 
spiritually  blind  and  his  affections  perverted,  he  is 
"  utterly  indisposed,  disabled  and  made  opposite  to  all 
good,  and  wholly  inclined  to  evil"  (Conf.  Faith,  ch.  vi., 
§  4,  and  ch.  xvi.,  §  3 ;  L.  Cat.  Q.  25) ;  and  hence  he 
"hath  wholly  lost  all  ability  of  will  to  any  spiritual 
good  accompanying  salvation,"  so  that  he  "  is  not  able 
of  his  own  strength  to  convert  himself,"  or  even  "  to 
prepare  himself  thereunto."  Conf.  Faith,  ch.  ix.,  §  3. 
The  same  view  is  taught  in  all  the  Protestant  Confes- 
sions, Lutheran  and  Reformed. 

Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England,  Art. 
10:  "The  condition  of  man  after  the  fall  of  Adam  is 
such  that  he  cannot  turn  and  prepare  himself  by  his  own 
natural  strength  and  good  works  to  faith  and  calling 
upon  God.  Wherefore  we  have  no  power  to  do  good 
works  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God,  without  the  grace 
of  God  by  Christ  preventing  us,  that  we  may  have  a 
good  will,  and  working  with  us  when  we  have  a  good 
will." 

Articles  of  Synod  of  Dort,  chap,  iii,  Art.  3 :  "  All 
men  are  conceived  in  sin,  and  born  children  of  wrath, 
indisposed  to  all  saving  good,  prepense  to  evil,  dead  in 
sins  and  the  slaves  of  sin,  and  without  the  grace  of  the 


FREE    WILL.  225 

regenerating  Holy  Spirit  they  are  neither  willing  nor 
able  to  retain  to  God,  to  correct  their  depraved  nature, 
or  to  dispose  themselves  to  the  correction  of  it." 

Form,  of  Concord,  p.  579,  Hase's  Collection  (Lutheran): 
"Therefore  we  believe  that  as  it  is  impossible  for  a  dead 
body  to  revive  itself,  or  to  communicate  animal  life  to 
itself,  in  the  same  degree  is  it  impossible  for  a  man, 
spiritually  dead  by  reason  of  sin,  to  recal  spiritual  life 
within  himself."  lb.  p.  653:  "  We  believe  that  neither 
the  intellect,  heart  nor  will  of  the  unregenerate  man  is 
able  of  its  own  natural  strength  either  to  understand, 
believe,  embrace,  will,  begin,  perfect,  perform,  operate 
or  co-operate  anything  in  things  divine  and  spiritual ; 
but  man  is  so  far  dead  and  corrupt  in  respect  to  good 
that  in  the  nature  of  man  since  the  fall,  and  before  re- 
generation, there  is  not  even  a  scintilla  of  spiritual 
strength  remaining  whereby  he  can  prepare  himself  for 
the  grace  of  God,  or  apprehend  that  grace  when  offered, 
or  is  able  in  whole  or  in  half,  or  in  the  least  part,  to 
apply  or  accommodate  himself  to  that  grace,  or  to  confer 
or  to  act,  or  to  operate  or  to  co-operate  anything  for 
his  own  conversion." 

By  liberty  we  mean  the  inalienable  prerogative  of  the 
human  soul  of  exercising  volition  as  it  pleases.  In  this 
sense  man  is  as  free  now  as  before  the  fall.  By  ability 
we  mean  the  capacity  either  to  will  in  opposition  to  the 
desires  and  affections  of  the  soul  at  the  time,  or  by  a 
bare  exercise  of  volition  to  make  oneself  desire  and  love 
that  which  one  does  not  spontaneously  desire  or  love. 
We  affirm  that  liberty  is,  and  that  ability  in  this  sense 
is  not,  an  element  of  the  constitution  of  the  soul.  A  man 
always  wills  as  upon  the  whole  he  pleases,  but  he  can- 


15 


226  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

not  will  himself  to  please  differently  from  wl  at  he  does 
please.  The  moral  condition  of  the  heart  determines 
the  act  of  the  will,  but  the  act  of  the  will  cannot  change 
the  moral  condition  of  the  heart. 

This  inability  is  (1)  absolute.  Man  has  no  power, 
direct  or  indirect,  to  fulfil  the  moral  law,  or  to  accept 
Christ,  or  to  change  his  nature  so  as  to  increase  his 
power,  and  so  can  neither  do  his  duty  without  grace, 
nor  prepare  himself  by  himself  for  grace.  (2.)  It  is 
purely  moral,  because  man  possesses  since  the  fall  as 
much  as  before  all  the  constitutional  faculties  requisite 
to  moral  agency,  and  his  inability  has  its  ground  solely 
in  the  wrong  moral  state  of  those  faculties.  It  is  simply 
the  evil  moral  disposition  of  the  soul.  (3.)  It  is  natural, 
because  it  is  not  accidental,  but  innate  and  inheres  in 
the  universal  and  radical  moral  state  of  our  souls  by 
nature;  that  is,  as  that  nature  is  naturally  propagated 
since  the  fall.  (4.)  It  is  not  natural  in  the  sense  of  be- 
longing to  the  nature  of  man  as  originally  formed  by  God, 
or  as  resulting  from  any  constitutional  deficiency,  or 
development  of  our  natural  moral  faculties  as  originally 
given  by  God. 

That  this  doctiine  is  true  is  proved  (1)  from  direct 
declarations  of  Scripture.  "  Can  the  Ethiopian  change 
his  skin  or  the  leopard  his  spots?  then  may  ye  also  do 
good  that  are  accustomed  to  do  evil."  Jer.  xiii.  23. 
"  No  man  can  come  unto  me  except  the  Father  who 
hath  sent  me  draw  him.  .  .  .  No  man  can  come  unto 
me  except  it  be  given  him  of  my  Father."  John  vi. 
44,  65;  Rom.  ix.  16;  1  Cor.  ii.  14.  (2.)  From  what 
Scriptures  say  of  man's  state  by  nature.  It  is  declared 
to  be  a  state  of  "blindness "  and  "  darkness  "  and  of 


FREE    WILL.  227 

"spiritual  death."  Eph.  iv.  18;  Col.  ii.  13.  The  un- 
regenerate  are  the  "  servants  of  sin  "  and  "  subject  to 
Satan."  Rom.  vi.  20;  v.  6;  2  Tim.  ii.  26;  Matt.  xxii. 
33-35  (3.)  From  what  the  Scriptures  say  of  the  nature 
and  the  universal  and  absolute  necessity  of  regeneration  : 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  again  he  cannot  enter  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."  John  iii.  3.  It  is  called  "a  new 
birth"  "  a  new  creation"  "  a  begetting  anew"  "  a  giving 
a  new  heart."  In  this  work  God  is  the  agent,  man  is 
the  subject.  It  is  so  great  that  it  requires  the  "  mighty 
power  of  God."  Eph.  i.  18-20.  All  Christian  duties 
are  declared  to  be  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  Gal.  v.  22, 
23.  (4.)  From  the  experience  of  every  true  Christian. 
(5.)  From  the  consciousness  of  every  convinced  sinner. 
The  great  burden  of  all  true  conviction  is  not  chiefly 
the  sins  committed,  but  the  sinful  deadness  of  heart  and 
aversionto  divine  things  which  is  the  root  of  actual  trans- 
gression, and  which  remains  immovable  in  spite  of  all 
we  do.  (6.)  From  the  universal  experience  of  the  hu- 
man race.  If  any  man  has  ever  naturally  possessed 
ability  to  perform  his  spiritual  duties,  it  is  certain  that 
no  one  has  ever  exercised  it. 

3d.  As  to  the  estate  into  which  the  regenerate  are 
introduced  by  grace,  our  Standards  affirm — (1.)  The 
regenerated  Christian  remains,  as  before,  a  free  agent, 
willing  always  as  upon  the  whole  he  desires  to  will. 
(2.)  In  the  act  of  regeneration  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
implanted  a  new  spiritual  principle,  habit  or  tendency 
in  the  affections  of  the  soul,  which,  being  subsequently 
nourished  and  directed  by  the  indwelling  Spirit,  frees 
the  man  from  his  natural  bondage  under  sin,  and  enables 
him  prevailingly  to  will  freely  that  which  is  spiritually 


228  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

good.  And  yet,  because  of  the  lingering  remains  of  his 
old  corrupt  moral  habit  of  soul,  there  remains  a  conflict 
of  tendencies,  so  that  the  Christian  does  not  perfectly 
nor  only  will  that  which  is  good,  but  doth  also  will  that 
which  is  evil.  These  points  will  be  discussed  under 
Chapters  x.  and  xiii. 

4th.  As  to  the  estate  of  glorified  men  in  heaven,  our 
Confession  teaches  that  they  continue,  as  before,  free 
agents,  but  that  all  the  remains  of  their  old  corrupt 
moral  tendencies  being  extirpated  for  ever,  and  the 
gracious  dispositions  implanted  in  regeneration  being 
perfected,  and  the  whole  man  being  brought  to  the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  perfect  manhood  in  the  like- 
ness of  Christ's  glorified  humanity,  they  remain  for  ever 
perfectly  free  and  immutably  disposed  to  perfect  holi- 
ness. Adam  was  holy  and  unstable.  Unregenerate  men 
are  unholy  and  stable;  that  is,  fixed  in  unholincss. 
Regenerate  men  have  two  opposite  moral  tendencies 
contesting  for  empire  in  their  hearts.  They  are  cast 
about  between  them,  yet  the  tendency  graciously  im- 
planted gradually  in  the  end  perfectly  prevails.  Glori- 
fied men  are  holy  and  stable.  All  are  free,  and  there- 
fore responsible. 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  taught  in  the  first  Section? 

2.  What  view  as  to  the  nature  of  human  agency  is  first  stated 
above? 

3.  What  is  the  second  view  stated  above? 

4.  What  is  the  true  view? 

5.  Prove  that  the  first  stated  view  is  not  true. 

6.  In  what  sense  and  under  what  limitations  are  we  conscious 
of  the  power  of  contrary  choice? 


FREE   WILL.  229 

7.  Does  consciousness  teach  that  the  will  of  man  or  the  man 
himself  is  free  when  he  acts?  How  does  this  bear  upon  the 
question  in  hand? 

8.  Whence  do  volitions  derive  their  rational  and  moral  cha- 
racter ? 

9.  What  would  be  the  inevitable  results  if  the  volitions  of  men 
were  decided  irrespectively  of  all  their  mental  and  emotional 
states  at  the  time? 

10.  What  do  the  second,  third,  fourth  and  fifth  Sections  teach? 

11.  When  is  a  man  a  free  agent? 

12.  Why  is  a  man  responsible  for  his  volitions?  Why  for  his 
desires?    Why  for  the  permanent  moral  state  of  his  soul? 

13.  What  elements  must  meet  together  to  constitute  a  man  a 
free  agent? 

14.  What  were  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  Adam's  free 
agency  ? 

15.  What  do  our  standards  teach  as  to  the  state  of  man's  moral 
freedom  since  the  fall  ? 

16.  In  what  words  and  passages  is  the  doctrine  of  our  Stand- 
ards stated? 

17.  What  doctrine  is  taught  in  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the 
Church  of  England,  in  the  Articles  of  the  Synod  of  Dort,  and  in 
the  Lutheran  Form,  of  Concord  ? 

18.  What  is  the  distinction  between  "liberty"  and  "ability?" 
and  which  is  affirmed  and  which  denied  of  man  in  his  present 
state  ? 

19.  Why  is  this  inability  said  to  be  "absolute?" 

20.  Why  is  it  said  to  be  "  moral?" 

21.  In  what  sense  is  it  natural,  and  in  what  sense  is  it  not 
natural  ? 

22.  Prove  this  doctrine  from  the  direct  statements  of  Scripture. 

23.  Do  the  same  from  what  Scripture  teaches  of  man's  estate 
by  nature. 

24.  The  same  from  what  Scripture  teaches  of  the  nature  and 
the  necessity  of  regeneration 

25.  The  same  from  the  consciousness  of  every  convicted 
sinner. 

26.  The  same  from  the  experience  of  every  convened  man. 


230  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

27.  The  same  from  the  universal  experience  of  mankind. 

28.  What  do  our  Standards  teach  of  the  characteristics  of 
that  moral  freedom  into  which  the  believer  is  introduced  by 
regeneration  ? 

29.  What  do  they  teach  of  the  characteristics  of  that  moral 
freedom  into  which  the  glorified  man  is  introduced  after  death? 


CHAPTER    X. 

OF    EFFECTUAL    CALLING. 

Section  I. — All  those  whom  God  hath  predestinated  unto 
life,  and  those  only,  he  is  pleased,  in  his  appointed  and  accepted 
time,  effectually  to  call,1  by  his  word  and  Spirit,2  out  of  that 
state  of  sin  and  death  in  which  they  are  by  nature,  to  grace  and 
salvation  by  Jesus  Christ  ;3  enlightening  their  minds  spiritually 
and  savingly  to  understand  the  things  of  God  ;4  taking  away  their 
heart  of  stone,  and  giving  unto  them  an  heart  of  flesh  ;5  renew- 
ing their  wills,  and  by  his  almighty  power  determining  them 
to  that  which  is  good,6  and  effectually  drawing  them  to  Jesus 
Christ  ;7  yet  so  as  they  come  most  freely,  being  made  willing  by 
his  grace.8 

Section  II. — This  effectual  call  is  of  God's  free  and  special 
grace  alone,  not  from  anything  at  all  foreseen  in  man  ;9  who  is 
altogether  passive  therein,  until,  being  quickened  and  renewed 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,10  he  is  thereby  enabled  to  answer  this  call, 
and  to  embrace  the  grace  offered  and  conveyed  in  it. u 

1  Rom.  viii.  30;  xi.  7;  Eph.  i.  10,  ll.—2  2  Thcss.  ii.  13,  14;  2  Cor.  iii.  3, 
6.— 3  Rom.  viii.  2:  Eph.  ii.  1-5;  2  Tim.  i.  9,  10.— *  Acts  xxvi.  18  ;  1  Cor. 
ii.  10,  12;  Eph.  i.  17,  18.— 5  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26.-6  Ezek.  xi.  19;  Phil.  ii.  13; 
Deut.  xxx.  6;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  27.— 7  Eph.  i.  19;  John  vi.  44,  45.— 8  Cant.  i. 
4 ;  Ps.  ex.  3 ;  John  vi.  37 ;  Rom.  vi.  16-1S.— •  2  Tim.  i.  9 ;  Tit.  iii.  4,  5  ; 
Eph.  ii.  4,  5,  8,  9;  Rom.  ix.  II.—10  1  Cor.  ii.  14;  Rom.  viii.  7;  Eph.  ii. 
5.— n  John  vi.  37;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  27;  John  v.  25. 

There  is  an  outward  call  of  God's  word  extended  to 
all  men  to  whom  the  gospel  is  preached,  which  is  con- 
sidered under  the  fourth  Section  of  this  chapter.  The 
first  and  second   Sections  treat  of  the  internal  effectual 

231 


9" 

232  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

call  of  God's  Spirit  which  effects  regeneration  and  which 
is  experienced  only  by  the  elect.  Of  this  internal  call 
it  is  affirmed — 

1st.  That  there  is  such  an  internal  call,  and  that  it  is 
necessary  to  salvation. 

2d.  As  to  the  subjects  of  it,  that  ihey  embrace  all  the 
elect  and  only  the  elect. 

3d.  As  to  the  agent  of  it — (a)  That  the  sole  agent  of 
it  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  uses  (b)  the  revealed  truth  of 
the  gospel  as  his  instrument;  (c)  that  the  subjects  of  it, 
while  they  have  freely  resisted  all  those  common  influ- 
ences of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  they  have  experienced 
before  regeneration,  are  entirely  passive  with  respect  to 
that  special  act  of  the  Spirit  whereby  they  are  regene- 
rated; nevertheless,  in  consequence  of  the  change  wrought 
in  them  in  regeneration,  they  obey  the'  call  and  subse- 
quently more  or  less  perfectly  co-operate  with  grace. 

4th.  As  to  the  nature  of  it,  it  is  taught  that  it  is  an 
exercise  of  the  almighty  and  effectual  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  acting  immediately  upon  the  soul  of  the 
subject,  determining  him  and  effectually  drawing,  yet 
in  a  manner  perfectly  congruous  to  his  nature,  so  that  he 
comes  most  freely,  being  made  willing. 

5th.  As  to  the  effect  of  it,  it  is  taught  that  it  works 
a  radical  and  permanent  change  in  the  entire  moral 
nature  of  the  subject,  spiritually  enlightening  his  mind, 
sanctifying  his  affections,  renewing  his  will  and  giving 
a  new  direction  to  his  action. 

1st.  That  there  is  such  an  internal  call  of  the  Spirit, 
distinct  from  the  external  call  of  the  Word,  and  that  it 
is  necessary  to  salvation,  are  proved  (1)  from  what  the 
iScjiptures  teach  concerning  man's  state  by  nature  as  a 


EFFECTUAL   CALLING.  233 

Btate  of  spiritual  death,  blindness,  insensibility  and 
absolute  inability  with  respect  to  all  action  spiritually 
good,  as  has  been  sufficiently  shown  under  Chap,  ix.,  §  3. 

(2.)  The  Scriptures  distinguish  between  the  Spirit's 
influence  and  that  of  the  Word  alone.  1  Cor.  ii.  14,  15; 
iii.  6 ;  1  Thess.  i.  5,  6. 

(3.)  A  spiritual  influence  is  declared  to  be  necessary 
to  dispose  and  enable  men  to  receive  the  truth.  John  vi. 
45;  Acts  xvi.  14;  Eph.  i.  17. 

(4.)  All  that  is  good  in  man  is  referred  to  God  as  its 
author.  Eph.  ii.  8;  Phil.  ii.  13;  2  Tim.  ii.  25;  Heb. 
xiii.  21. 

(5.)  The  working  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  hearts  of 
the  regenerated  is  represented  as  far  more  direct,  power- 
ful and  efficient  than  the  mere  moral  influence  of  the 
truth  upon  the  understanding  and  affections.  Eph.  i.  19; 
iii.  7. 

(6.)  The  result  effected  in  regeneration  is  different 
from  an  effect  proper  to  the  simple  truth.  It  is  "a 
new  birth,"  "  a  new  creation/'  etc.  John  iii.  3,  7 ;  Eph. 
iv.  24. 

(7.)  The  Scriptures  explicitly  distinguish  between  the 
two  calls.  Of  the  subjects  of  the  one  it  is  said,  "Many 
are  called,  but  few  are  chosen."  Matt.  xxii.  14.  Of  the 
subjects  of  the  other  it  is  said,  "  Whom  he  called,  them 
he  also  justified."  Rom.  viii.  30.  Comp.  Prov.  i.  24, 
and  John  vi.  45. 

All  these  arguments  conspire  to  prove  that  this  spirit- 
ual influence  is  essential  to  salvation.  Whatever  is  the 
necessary  condition  of  regeneration  is  the  necessary  con- 
dition of  salvation,  because  "except  a  man  be  born 
again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  John  iii.  3. 


234  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

2d.  That  this  spiritual  call  embraces  all  the  elect,  and 
only  the  elect,  is  proved — (1.)  From  what  has  been 
already  proved,  (a)  Chapter  iii.,  §§  3,  4,  5,  that  God  has 
from  eternity  definitely  and  unchangeably  determined 
who  shall  be  saved ;  and  (b)  Chapter  iii.,  §  6,  that  God, 
having  "appointed  the  elect  unto  glory,  so  hath  he,  by 
the  eternal  and  most  free  purpose  of  his  will,  fore- 
ordained all  the  means  thereunto."  Effectual  calling 
being  the  actual  saving  of  a  soul  from  the  death  of  sin 
by  the  mighty  power  of  God,  it  is  obvious  that  it  must 
be  applied  to  all  who  are  to  be  saved,  and  that  it  cannot 
be  applied  to  any  who  are  not  to  be  saved.  (2.)  The 
game  is  proved  from  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  repre- 
sent the  "called"  as  the  "elect"  and  the  "elect"  as  the 
"called."  Rom.  viii.  28,  30.  "Those  with  Christ  in 
heaven  are  called,  elect  and  faithful."  (3.)  The  Scrip- 
tures, moreover,  declare  that  the  "calling"  is  based  upon 
the  "election."  2  Tim.  xix.  "Who  hath  saved  us  and 
called  us  with  an  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our 
works,  but  according  to  his  own  purpose  and  grace, 
which  was  given  to  us  in  Christ  Jesus  before  the  world 
began."  2  Tim.  i.  9 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  13,  14 ;  Rom.  xi.  7. 

3d.  That  the  sole  agent  in  this  effectual  calling  is  the 
Holy  Ghost;  that  he  uses  Gospel  truth  as  his  instru- 
ment; and  that,  while  all  sinners  are  active  in  resisting 
the  common  influences  of  grace  before  regeneration,  and 
all  believers  in  co-operating  with  sanctifying  grace  after 
regeneration,  nevertheless  every  new-created  soul  is 
passive  with  respect  to  that  divine  act  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  whereby  he  is  regenerated,  may  all  be  proved 
under  the  following  distinct  heads  : 

(1.)  There  are  certain  influences  of  the  Spirit  in  the 


EFFECTUAL   CALLING.  235 

present  life  which  extend  to  all  men  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree;  which  tend  to  restrain  or  to  persuade  the  soul, 
which  are  exerted  in  the  way  of  heightening  the  natural 
moral  effect  of  the  truth  upon  the  understanding,  the 
heart  and  the  conscience.  They  involve  no  change  of 
principle  and  permanent  disposition,  but  only  an  in- 
crease of  the  natural  emotions  of  the  heart  in  view  of 
sin,  of  duty  and  of  self-interest.  These  influences,  of 
course,  may  be  resisted,  and  are  habitually  resisted,  by 
the  unregenerated.  The  fact  that  such  resistible  in- 
fluences are  experienced  by  men  is  proved  (a)  from  the 
fact  that  the  Scriptures  affirm  that  they  are  resisted. 
Gen.  vi.  3 ;  Heb.  x.  29.  (b.)  Every  Christian  is  con- 
scious that  anterior  to  his  conversion  he  was  the  subject 
of  influences  impressing  him  with  serious  thoughts, 
convincing  him  of  sin,  tending  to  draw  him  to  the 
obedience  of  Christ,  which  he  for  the  time  resisted. 
We  observe  the  same  to  be  true  of  many  men  who  are 
never  truly  converted  at  all. 

(2.)  The  distinction  between  regeneration  and  conver- 
sion is  obvious  and  necessary.  Under  Chapter  ix.  we 
saw  that  the  voluntary  acts  of  the  human  soul  are 
determined  by  and  derive  their  character  from  the  affec- 
tions and  desires  which  prompt  them ;  and  these  affec- 
tions and  desires  derive  their  character  from  the  perma- 
nent moral  state  of  the  soul  in  which  they  arise.  In 
the  unregenerate  this  permanent  moral  state  and  dispo- 
sition jf  the  soul  is  evil,  and  hence  the  action  is  evil. 
Action  positively  holy  is  impossible  except  as  the  conse- 
quence of  a  positively  holy  disposition.  The  infusion 
of  nich  a  disposition  must  therefore  precede  any  act  of 
true  spiritual  obedience.     Effectual  calling,  according  tc 


236  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

the  usage  of  our  Standards,  is  the  act  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
effecting  regeneration.  Regeneration  is  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  effectual  calling.  Thp 
Holy  Spirit,  in  the  act  of  effectual  calling,  causes  the 
soul  to  become  regenerate  by  implanting  a  new  govern- 
ing principle  or  habit  of  spiritual  affection  and  action 
The  soul  itself,  in  conversion,  immediately  acts  under 
the  guidance  of  this  new  principle  in  turning  from  sin 
unto  God  through  Christ.  It  is  evident  that  the  im- 
plantation of  the  gracious  principle  is  different  from  the 
exercise  of  that  principle,  and  that  the  making  a  man 
willing  is  different  from  his  acting  willingly.  This  first 
is  the  act  of  God  solely ;  the  second  is  the  consequent 
act  of  man,  dependent  upon  the  continued  assistance  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

That  God  is  the  sole  agent  in  the  act  which  effects 
regeneration  is  plain — (a.)  From  the  nature  of  the  case, 
as  shown  above.  The  making  an  unwilling  man  willing 
cannot  be  co-operated  with  by  the  man  while  unwilling. 
(6.)  From  what  was  proved  under  Chapter  ix.,  §  3,  as 
to  man's  absolute  inability  with  respect  to  spiritual 
things,  (c.)  From  what  the  Scriptures  say  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  change.  They  call  it  "a  new  birth,"  "a 
begetting,"  "a  quickening,"  "a  new  creation."  "God 
begetteth,  the  Spirit  quickeneth  ;"  "  We  are  born  again," 
"We  are  God's  workmanship."  See  also  Ezek.  xi.  19  : 
Ps.  li.  10 ;  Eph.  iv.  23 ;  Heb.  viii.  10.  That,  after  re- 
generation, the  new-born  soul  at  once  begins  and  ever 
continues  more  or  less  perfectly  to  co-operate  with  sanc- 
tifying grace,  is  self-evident.  Faith,  repentance,  love, 
good  works,  are  one  and  all  at  the  same  time  "fruits  of 
the  Spirit"  and  free  actions  of  men.    We  are  continually 


EFFECTUAL   CALLING.  237 

conscious,  moreover,  that  we  are  subject  to  divine  influ- 
ences, which  we  are  either  resisting  or  obeying,  and 
which  we  are  free  to  resist  or  obey  as  we  please,  while 
through  grace  we  do  prevailingly  please  to  obey. 

(3.)  That  the  Holy  Spirit  uses  the  "  truth"  as  his 
instrument  in  effectual  calling  is  plain — (a.)  Because  he 
never  acts  in  this  way  where  the  knowledge  of  the  truth 
is  entirely  wanting,  (b.)  Because  the  Scriptures  assert 
that  we  are  begotten  by  the  truth,  sanctified  by  the 
truth,  grow  by  it,  etc.  John  xvii.  19  ;  James  i.  18. 

4th.  That  this  divine  action  is  in  its  nature  at  once 
omnipotent  and  certainly  efficacious,  and  yet  perfectly 
congruous  to  the  rational  and  voluntary  nature  of  man, 
follows  certainly  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  act  of  the 
all-wise  and  all-powerful  God  in  executing  his  self-con- 
sistent and  immutable  decrees.  What  God  does  directly 
to  accomplish  his  own  changeless  purposes  must  be  cer- 
tainly efficacious  and  powerful.  Eph.  i.  18,  19.  Besides, 
the  very  thing  done  is  to  make  us  willing,  to  work  faith 
in  us ;  and  that  is  indubitably  connected  with  salvation. 
Phil.  ii.  13.  That  it  is  effectual  is  also  asserted.  Eph. 
iii.  7,  20;  iv.  16. 

That  this  divine  influence  is  perfectly  congruous  to 
our  nature  is  plain — (1.)  From  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
influence  of  an  all-wise  Creator  upon  the  work  of  his 
nwn  hand.  It  is  not  conceivable  either  that  God  is  un- 
able or  indisposed  to  control  the  actions  of  his  creatures 
in  a  manner  perfectly  consistent  with  their  nature.  (2.) 
The  influence  he  exerts  is  called  in  Scripture  "a  draw- 
ing," "a  teaching,"  "an  enlightening,"  etc.  John  vi.  44, 
45;  Eph.  i.  18.  (3.)  By  nature  the  mind  is  darkened 
and  the  affections  perverted  and  the  will  enslaved  bv 


238  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

sin.  Regeneration  restores  these  faculties  to  their  proper 
condition.  It  cannot  be  inconsistent  with  a  rational  na- 
ture to  let  in  the  light,  nor  to  a  free  will  to  deliver  it  from 
bondage.  (i  Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is 
liberty."  2  Cor.  iii.  17  ;  Phil.  ii.  13;  Ps.  ex.  3/  Every 
regenerated  man  is  conscious  (a)  that  no  constraint  has 
been  laid  upon  the  spontaneous  movement  of  his  facul- 
ties, and  (6)  that,  on  the  other  hand,  none  of  his  faculties 
ever  acted  so  freely  and  consistently  with  the  law  of  their 
nature  before. 

5th.  That  this  change  is  radical  is  proved  from  the 
fact  that,  as  shown  above,  it  consists  in  the  implantation 
of  a  new  governing  principle  of  life — from  the  fact  that 
it  is  a  "  new  birth,"  a  "  new  creation,"  wrought  by 
the  mighty  power  of  God  in  execution  of  his  eternal 
purpose  of  salvation,  and  that  it  is  as  necessary  for  the 
most  moral  and  amiable  as  for  the  morally  abandoned. 

That  this  change  is  permanent  will  be  shown  under 
Chapter  xvii.,  on  the  Perseverance  of  the  Saints. 

That  it  affects  the  entire  man — intellect,  affections 
and  will — is  evident  (1)  from  the  essential  unity  of  the 
soul.  It  is  the  one  indivisible  "I"  which  thinks,  feels 
and  wills.  If  the  permanent  moral  state  of  the  soul  is 
corrupt,  all  its  functions  must  be  perverted.  We  can 
have  no  desire  for  an  object  unless  we  perceive  its  love- 
liness; nor  can  we  perceive  intellectually  the  loveliness 
of  that  which  is  wholly  uncongenial  to  our  inherent 
tastes  and  dispositions.  (2.)  The  Scriptures  expressly 
affirm  that  sin  is  essentially  deceiving,  that  innate  de- 
pravity involves  moral  blindness,  and  that  the  natural 
man  cannot  receive  the  things  which  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned.  1  Cor.  ii    4;   2  Cor.  iv.  4;   John  xvi.  3.     (3.) 


EFFECTUAL   CALLING.  239 

The  Scriptures  expressly  affirm  that  all  the  "new  born" 
are  the  subjects  of  a  spiritual  illumination  of  the  under- 
standing as  well  as  renewal  of  the  affections.  John  xvii. 
3 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  12,  13 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  6 ;  Eph.  i.  18 ;  1  John 
iv.  7 ;  v.  20.  (4.)  In  the  Bible  the  phrase  "  to  give  a 
new  heart"  is  equivalent  to  effect  regeneration,  and  the 
phrase  "heart"  is  characteristically  used  for  the  entire 
interior  man — intellect,  affections  and  will.  Observe 
such  phrases  as  "  counsels  of  the  heart,"  1  Cor.  iv.  5 ; 
"  imaginations  of  the  heart,"  Luke  i.  51 ;  "  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart,"  Heb.  iv.  12. 

Section  III. — Elect  infants,  dying  in  infancy,  are  regenerated 
and  saved  by  Christ  through  the  Spirit,12  who  worketh  when  and 
where  and  how  he  please  th.13  So  also  are  all  other  elect  persons, 
who  are  incapable  of  being  outwardly  called  by  the  ministry  of 
the  Word.14 

12  Luke  xviii.  16;  Acts  ii.  38,  39;  John  iii.  3,  5;  1  John  v.  12;  Rom 
viii.  9.— »  John  iii.  8.— 14  1  John  v.  12;  Acts  iv.  12. 

The  outward  call  of  God's  word  and  all  the  "  means 
of  grace"  provided  in  the  present  dispensation  of  course 
presuppose  intelligence  upon  the  part  of  those  who  re- 
ceive them.  The  will  of  God,  also,  is  revealed  only  as 
far  as  it  concerns  those  capable  of  understanding  and 
profiting  by  the  revelation.  His  purposes  with  respect 
either  to  persons  or  classes  not  thus  addressed  are  not 
explicitly  revealed. 

If  infants  and  others  not  capable  of  being  called  by 
the  Gospel  are  to  be  saved,  they  must  be  regenerated 
and  sanctified  immediately  by  God  without  the  use  of 
means.  If  God  could  create  Adam  holy  without  means, 
and  if  he  can  new-cieate  believers  in  righteousness  and 
true  holiness  by  the  use  of  means  which  a  large  part 


240  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

of  men  use  without  profit,  he  can  certainly  make  infants 
and  others  regenerate  without  means.  Indeed,  the  nat- 
ural depravity  of  infants  lies  before  moral  action  in  the 
judicial  deprivation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  evil  is 
rectified,  at  that  stage,  therefore,  by  the  gracious  restora- 
tion of  the  soul  to  its  moral  relation  to  the  Spirit  of  God. 
The  phrase  "elect  infants"  is  precise  and  fit  for  its  pur- 
pose. It  is  not  intended  to  suggest  that  there  are  any 
infants  not  elect,  but  simply  to  point  out  the  facts  (a) 
that  all  infants  are  born  under  righteous  condemnation, 
and  (6)  that  no  infant  has  any  claim  in  itself  to  salva- 
tion;  and  hence  (c)  the  salvation  of  each  infant,  pre- 
cisely as  the  salvation  of  every  adult,  must  have  its 
absolute  ground  in  the  sovereign  election*  of  God.  This 
would  be  just  as  true  if  all  adults  were  elected  as  it  is 
now  that  only  some  adults  are  elected.  It  is,  therefore, 
just  as  true,  although  we  have  good  reason  to  believe 
that  all  infants  are  elected.  The  Confession  adheres  in 
this  place  accurately  to  the  facts  revealed.  It  is  cer- 
tainly revealed  that  none,  either  adult  or  infant,  are 
saved  except  on  the  ground  of  a  sovereign  election ; 
that  is,  all  salvation  for  the  human  race  is  pure  grace. 
It  is  not  positively  revealed  that  all  infants  are  elect, 
but  we  are  left,  for  many  reasons,  to  indulge  a  highly 
probable  hope  that  such  is  the  fact.  The  Confession 
affirms  what  is  certainly  revealed,  and  leaves  that  which 
revelation  has  not  decided  to  remain,  without  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  positive  opinion  upon  one  side  or  the  other. 

Section  IV. — Others  not  elected,  although  they  may  be  called 
by  the  ministry  of  the  word,15  and  may  have  some  common  ope- 

*  The  scriptural  word  is  "predestination."  See  this  interpretation 
confirmed  and  historically  illustrated,  "  The  West.  Assembly,"  Dr.  A.  F. 
Mitchell,  pp.  398,  399. 


EFFECTUAL   CALLING.  241 

rations  of  the  Spirit;16  yet  they  never  truly  come  unto  Christ,  and 
therefore  cannot  be  saved ; 1T  much  less  can  men  not  professing 
the  Christian  religion  be  saved  in  any  other  way  whatsoever,  be 
they  ever  so  diligent  to  frame  their  lives  according  to  the  light 
of  nature  and  the  law  of  that  religion  they  do  profess;18  and  to 
assert  and  maintain  that  they  may,  is  very  pernicious,  and  to  be 
detested.19 

15  Matt.  xxii.  14.— »«  Matt.  vii.  22;  xiii.  20,  21;  Heb.  vi.  4,  5.— «  John 
vi,  64-G6;  viii.  24.— 18  Acts  iv.  12;  John  xiv.  6;  Eph.  ii.  12;  John  iv.  22; 
xvii.  3.— 19  2  John  9-11;  1  Cor.  xvi.  22;  Gal.  i.  6-8. 

This  Section,  taken  in  connection  with  the  parallel 
passage  in  L.  Cat.,  Q.  60,  teaches : 

1st,  That  the  non-elect  will  certainly  fail  of  salva- 
tion, not  because  a  free  salvation  is  not  made  available 
to  them  if  they  accept  Christ,  but  because  they  never 
accept  Christ;  and  they  all  refuse  to  accept  him,  because, 
although  they  may  be  persuaded  by  some  of  the  common 
influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  their  radical  aversion  to 
God  is  never  overcome  by  effectual  calling.  It  has 
already  been  proved  under  §§  1  and  2  that  the  grace  of 
effectual  calling  extends  to  all  the  elect  and  only  to 
the  elect,  hence  the  truth  of  this  proposition  follows. 

2d.  That  the  diligent  profession  and  honest  practice 
of  neither  natural  religion  nor  of  any  other  religion  than 
pure  Christianity  can  in  the  least  avail  to  promote  the 
salvation  of  the  soul,  is  evident  from  the  essential  prin- 
ciples of  the  gospel.  If  any  person  perfectly  conformed 
to  the  amount  of  spiritual  truth  known  to  him  in  every 
thought  and  act  from  birth  upward,  however  little  that 
knowledge  might  be,  he  would  of  course  need  no  salva- 
tion. But  all  men,  as  we  have  seen,  are  bcrn  under 
condemnation,  and  begin  to  act  as  moral  agents  with 
natures  already  corrupt.     "All  have  sinned  and  come 

16 


242  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

short  of  the  glory  of  God."  Hence  it  follows  that  ai, 
atonement  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  consequently  a 
personal  interest  in  the  redemption  of  Christ  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  salvation ;  for  if  a  law,  conformity 
to  which  could  have  given  life,  could  have  been  given, 
Christ  is  dead  in  vain.  Gal.  ii.  21;  iii.  21.  To  admit 
that  men  may  be  saved  irrespectively  of  Christ,  is  vir- 
tually to  deny  Christ. 

3d.  That  in  the  case  of  sane  adult  persons  a  knowledge 
of  Christ  and  a  voluntary  acceptance  of  him  is  essential 
in  order  to  a  personal  interest  in  his  salvation  is  proved 
— (1.)  Paul  argues  this  point  explicitly:  If  men  call 
upon  the  Lord  they  shall  be  saved ;  but  in  order  to  call 
upon  him  they  must  believe;  and  in  order  to  believe 
they  must  hear ;  and  that  they  should  hear,  the  gospel 
must  be  preached  unto  them.  Thus  the  established 
order  is,  Salvation  cometh  by  faith,  faith  cometh  by 
hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  Word  of  God.  Rom.  x.  14- 
17 ;  Matt.  xi.  27 ;  John  xiv.  6 ;  xvii.  3  ;  Acts  iv.  12. 

(2.)  God  has  certainly  revealed  no  purpose  to  save 
any  except  those  who,  hearing  the  gospel,  obey;  and  he 
requires  that  his  people,  as  custodians  of  the  gospel, 
should  be  diligent  in  disseminating  it  as  the  appointed 
means  of  saving  souls.  Whatever  lies  beyond  this  circle 
of  sanctified  means  is  unrevealed,  unpromised,  uncove- 
nanted. 

(3.)  The  heathen  in  mass,  with  no  single  definite 
and  unquestionable  exception  on  record,  are  evidently 
strangers  to  God,  and  going  down  to  death  in  an  un- 
saved condition.  The  presumed  possibility  of  being  saved 
without  a  knowledge  of  Christ  remains,  after  eighteen 
hundred  years,  a  possibility  illustrated  by  no  example. 


EFFECTUAL   CALLING.  243 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  two  "calls"  are  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures? 

2.  Which  "call"  is  treated  of  in  the  first  and  second  Sections? 

3.  What  is  the  first  proposition  here  affirmed  on  the  subject 
of  the  internal  call  by  the  Holy  Ghost? 

4.  What  is  affirmed  here  as  to  the  subjects  of  it? 

5.  What  is  affirmed  as  to  the  agent  of  it? 

6.  What  is  affirmed  as  to  the  effect  of  it? 

7.  What  is  affirmed  as  to  the  nature  of  it? 

8.  How  may  it  be  proved  that  there  is  such  an  internal  spirit- 
ual call  ? 

9.  How  may  it  be  proved  that  this  call  is  essential  to  salvation? 

10.  Prove  that  it  embraces  all  the  elect  and  only  the  elect. 

11.  How  far  do  the  effects  of  the  common  resistible  influences 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  the  hearts  of  men  in  general  extend  ? 

12.  Prove  that  there  are  certain  "common"  and  "resistible" 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  experienced  by  all  men. 

13.  State  the  distinction  between  regeneration  and  conversion  ; 
and  in  which  is  the  believer  passive,  and  in  which  is  he  active? 

14.  Show  that  regeneration   necessarily  must    precede  con- 
version. 

15.  Prove  that  with  respect  to  the  act  of  God  which  regene- 
rates God  alone  is  the  agent,  and  that  the  subject  is  passive. 

16.  Prove  that  instantly  upon  his  regeneration  the  new-born 
soul  begins  to  co-operate  with  the  influences  of  the  Spirit. 

17.  Prove  that  the  Holy  Spirit  uses  "the  truth"  as  his  in- 
strument in  regeneration? 

18.  Prove  that  the  spiritual  influence  exerted  in  regeneration 
is  in  every  case  certainly  efficacious. 

19.  Prove  that  it  is  exerted  in  a  manner  perfectly  consistent 
with  the  nature  of  man  as  a  free  agent. 

20.  Show  that  it  effects  a  "radical"   moral   change  in   the 
believer. 

21.  Show  that  this  change  involves  the  whole  man   intellect 
and  will  as  well  as  the  affections. 


244  CONFESSION   OP   FAITH. 

22.  What  is  presupposed  upon  the  part  of  all  to  whom  the 
"  outward  call"  and  the  means  of  grace  are  addressed  ; 

23.  To  whom  and  in  whose  behalf  are  the  revelations  of  God's 
will  in  the  Scriptures  made  ? 

24.  Show  that  infants  and  others  incapable  of  receiving  the 
outward  call  are  regenerated  by  God  without  the  use  of  the  means 
which  are  necessary  in  the  case  of  intelligent  adults. 

25.  Explain  and  justify  the  use  of  the  phrase  "  elect  infants" 
in  the  third  Section. 

26.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  fourth  Section? 

27.  What  is  the  second  proposition  taught  there? 

28.  What  is  the  third  proposition  there  taught  ? 

29.  Why  do  the  non-elect  fail  of  salvation  ? 

30.  Prove  that  they  will  infallibly  do  so. 

31.  Prove  that  the  honest  and  diligent  profession  of  natural 
religion  or  of  any  other  than  the  Christian  religion  cannot  avail 
to  save  men. 

32.  Prove  that  in  the  case  of  all  intelligent  adults  a  knowledge 
and  voluntary  acceptance  of  Christ  is  essential  to  salvation. 


CHAPTER  XI 


OF   JUSTIFICATION. 


Section  I.— Those  whom  God  effectually  calleth  he  also  freely 
justifieth  j1  not  by  infusing  righteousness  into  them,  but  by  par- 
doning their  sins  and  by  accounting  and  accepting  their  persona 
as  righteous :  not  for  anything  wrought  in  them,  or  done  by  them, 
but  for  Christ's  sake  alone  ;  not  by  imputing  faith  itself,  the  act 
of  believing,  or  any  other  evangelical  obedience,  to  them  as  their 
righteousness ;  but  by  imputing  the  obedience  and  satisfaction 
of  Christ  unto  them,2  they  receiving  and  resting  on  him  and  his 
righteousness  by  faith  :  which  faith  they  have  not  of  themselves ; 
it  is  the  gift  of  God.3 

Section  II. — Faith,  thus  receiving  and  resting  on  Christ  and 
his  righteousness,  is  the  alone  instrument  of  justification  ;4  }ret  is 
it  not  alone  in  the  person  justified,  but  is  ever  accompanied  with 
all  other  saving  graces,  and  is  no  dead  faith,  but  worketh  by 
love.5 

1  Rom.  viii.  30;  iii.  24.— 2  Rom.  iv.  5-8;  2  Cor.  v.  19,  21  ;  Rom.  iii.  22, 
24,  25,  27,  28  j  Tit.  iii.  5,  7 ;  Eph.  i.  7  ;  Jer.  xxiii.  6 ;  1  Cor.  i.  30,  31 ;  Rom. 
v.  17-19.— 3  Acts  x.  44;  Gal.  ii.  16  ;  Phil.  iii.  9;  Acts  xiii.  3S,  39  ;  Eph.  ii. 
7,  8.—*  John  i.  12;  Rom.  iii.  2S ;  v.  1.— 5  James  ii.  17,  22,  26;  Gal.  v.  6. 

These  Sections  teach  the  following:  propositions: 
1st.  All  those  and  only  those  whom  God  has  effectu- 
ally called  he  also  freely  justifies. 

2d.  This  justification  is  a  purely  judicial  act  of  God 
as  Judge,  whereby  he  pardons  all  the  sins  of  a  believer, 
and  accounts,  accepts  and  treats  him  Sf  a" "person  righteous 
in  the  eye  of  the  divine, hiw. 


246  •  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

3d.  That  this  justifying  act  proceeds  upon  the  im- 
putation or  crediting  to  the  believer  by  God  of  the 
righteousness  of  his  great  Representative  and  Surety, 
Jesus  Christ. 

4tfi.  That  the  essential  and  sole  condition  upon  which 
this  righteousness  of  Christ  is  imputed  to  the  believer  is, 
that  he  exercises  faith  in  or  on  Christ  as  his  righteous- 
ness. 

5th.  That  this  faith  is  itself  a  gracious  gift  of  God. 

6th.  That  no  other  grace,  neither  love  nor  hope  nor 
obedience,  sustains  the  same  relation  to  justification  that 
faith  does  as  its  essential  condition  or  instrument;  yet 
this  faith  is  never  alone  in  the  justified  person,  but  is 
always,  when  genuine,  accompanied  with  all  other  Chris- 
tian graces,  all  of  which  have  their  root  in  faith. 

1st.  That  God  justifies  all  those  and  only  those  whom 
he  has  effectually  called  or  regenerated  by  his  grace  is 
proved — (1.)  From  the  express  declarations  of  Scripture  : 
"  Whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called  :  and 
whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified."  (2.)  From  the 
fact  that  effectual  calling  and  justification  are  both 
necessary  in  order  to  salvation,  and  are  both  essential 
steps  in  the  execution  by  God  of  his  own  immutable 
and  infallibly  efficacious  decree  of  election.  (3.)  From 
the  fact  that  only  those  who  truly  believe  are  justified, 
and  only  those  who  are  regenerate  can  truly  believe. 

2d.  As  to  its  nature,  this  justification  is  a  purely 
judicial  act  of  God  as  Judge,  whereby  he  pardons  all 
the  sins  of  a  believer,  and  accounts,  accepts  and  treats 
him  as  a  person  righteous  in  the  eye  of  the  divine  law. 
This  includes  two  subordinate  propositions  : 

(1.)  Justification  is  a  judicial  act  of  God,  whereby  h* 


JUSTIFICATION.  247 

declares  us  to  be  conformed  to  the  demands  of  the  law 
as  the  condition  of  our  life  ;  it  is  not  an  act  of  gracious 
power,  making  us  holy  or  conformed  to  the  law  as  a 
standard  of  moral  character.  The  Romanists  use  the 
term  justification  in  a  vague  and  general  sense,  as  in- 
cluding at  once  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  infusion 
of  grace,  Socinians,  and  those  who  teach  the  moral-in- 
fluence theory  of  the  atonement,  regard  justification  as 
meaning  the  same  as  sanctification;  that  is,  the  making  a 
man  personally  holy.  The  true  sense  of  justification 
stated  above  is,  when  taken  in  its  connection  with  faith, 
the  grand  central  principle  of  the  Reformation,  brought 
out  and  triumphantly  vindicated  by  Luther.  That  it 
is  true  is  proved  (a)  from  the  universal  meaning  of  the 
English  word  to  justify,  and  of  the  equivalent  Greek 
word  used  in  the  New  Testament.  They  both  arc  alike 
always  used  to  express  an  act  declaring  a  man  to  be 
square  with  the  demands  of  law,  never  to  express  an  act 
making  him  holy.  Gal.  ii.  16  ;  iii.  11. 

(6.)  In  Scripture,  justification  is  always  set  forth  as 
the  opposite  of  condemnation.  The  opposite  of  "  to 
sanctify"  is  "to  pollute,"  but  the  opposite  of  "to  justify" 
is  "to  condemn."  Rom.  viii.  30-34;  John  iii.  18. 

(c.)  The  true  sense  of  the  phrase  "to  justify"  is  clearly 
proved  by  the  terms  used  in  Scripture  as  equivalent  to 
it.  For  example:  "To  impute  righteousness  without 
works;"  "To  forgive  iniquities;''  "To  cover  sins." 
Rom.  iv.  6-8.  "Not  to  impute  transgression  unto 
them."  2  Cor.  v.  19.  "Not  to  brin^  into  condemna- 
tion."  John  v.  24. 

(d.)  In  many  passages  it  would  produce  the  most 
obvious  nonsense  to  substitute  sanctification  (the  making 


248  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

holy)  for  justification  (the  declaring  legally  just) ;  as, 
for  instance :  "  For  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no 
flesh  be  sanctified;"  or,  "  Christ  is  become  of  no  effect 
unto  you,  whosoever  of  you  are  sanctified  by  the  law ; 
ye  are  fallen  from  grace."  Gal.  ii.  16  ;  v.  4. 

(e.)  Justification  and  sanctification  are  set  forth  in 
Scripture  as  distinct  graces,  inseparable,  alike  necessary, 
yet  distinct  in  their  nature,  grounds  and  ends.  1  Cor. 
vi.  11. 

(2.)  Justification  is  not  mere  pardon ;  it  includes 
pardon  of  sin,  and  in  addition  the  declaration  that  all 
the  claims  of  law  are  satisfied  with  respect  to  the  person 
justified,  and  that  consequently  he  has  a  right  to  all  the 
immunities  and  rewards  which  in  the  covenant  of  life 
are  suspended  upon  perfect  conformity  to  the  demands 
of  law. 

Pardon  (a)  relaxes  the  claims  of  law,  or  waives  their 
exaction  in  a  given  case.  (6.)  It  is  an  act  of  a  sovereign 
in  the  exercise  of  pure  prerogative,  (c.)  It  is  free, 
resting  upon  considerations  of  mercy  or  of  public  policy. 
(cZ.)  It  simply  remits  the  penalty  of  sin ;  it  secures 
neither  honours  nor  rewards. 

On  the  other  hand,  justification  (a)  is  the  act  of  a 
judge,  not  a  sovereign,  (b.)  It  rests  purely  upon  the 
state  of  the  law  and  of  the  facts,  and  is  impossible 
where  there  is  not  a  perfect  righteousness,  (c.)  It  pro- 
nounces the  law  not  relaxed,  but  fulfilled  in  its  strictest 
sense,  (d.)  It  declares  the  person  justified  to  be  justly 
entitled  to  all  the  honours  and  advantages  suspended 
upon  perfect  conformity  to  all  the  demands  of  law. 

The  truth  of  this  proposition  is  proved  (a)  from  the 
uniform  and  obvious  meaning  of  the  words  "to  justify." 


JUSTIFICATION.  249 

No  one  ever  confounds  the  justification  of  a  person 
with  his  pardon,  (b.)  As  we  saw  under  Chapter  viii., 
§  5,  "  The  Lord  Jesus,  by  his  perfect  obedience  and 
sacrifice  of  himself,  .  .  .  hath  fully  satisfied  the  justice 
of  the  Father,  and  purchased  not  only  reconciliation, 
but  an  everlasting  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
for  all  those  whom  the  Father  hath  given  unto  him." 
Justification,  therefore,  rests  upon  this  "  full  satisfaction 
of  divine  justice/'  It  is  a  judicial  declaration  that  the 
law  is  satisfied — not  a  sovereign  waiving  of  the  penalty. 

(c.)  The  Scriptures  declare  that  our  justification  pro- 
ceeds upon  the  ground  of  a  perfect  righteousness. 
Christ  "  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every 
one  that  believeth."  Rom.  x.  3-6;  1  Cor.  i.  30.  The 
essence  of  pardon  is  that  a  man  is  forgiven  without 
righteousness.  The  essence  of  justification  is  that  a 
man  is  pronounced  to  be  possessed  of  righteousness, 
which  satisfies  the  law.  We  are  "  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  in  him."  2  Cor.  v.  21.  Justification  is 
paraphrased  as  "not  imputing  sin;"  as  "imputing 
righteousness  without  works."  Rom.  iv.  6-8. 

(d.)  The  effects  of  justification  are  much  more  than 
those  of  pardon.  The  justified  have  "  peace  with  God," 
"  assurance  of  salvation,"  Rom.  v.  1-10;  "inheritance 
among  them  that  are  sanctified,"  Acts  xxvi.  18. 

3d.  Justification  proceeds  upon  the  imputation  or 
crediting  to  the  believer  by  God  of  the  righteousness  of 
his  great  Representative  and  Surety,  Jesus  Christ.  L. 
Cat.,  Q.  70 :  "  Justification  is  an  act  of  God's  free  grace 
unto  sinners,  wherein  he  pardoneth  all  their  sin,  accept- 
eth  and  accounteth  their  persons  righteous  in  his 'sight; 
not  for  anything  wrought  in  them  or  done  by  them,  but 


250  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

only  for  the  perfect  obedience  and  full  satisfaction  ol 
Christ,  by  God  imputed  to  them,  and  received  by  faith 
alone."  Compare  also  L.  Cat.,  Q.  77,  and  S.  Cat., 
Q.33, 

Arminians  hold  that  for  Christ's  sake  the  demands  of 
the  law  are  graciously  lowered,  and  faith  and  evangelical 
obedience  accepted  in  the  place  of  perfect  obedience  as 
the  ground  of  justification.  Our  Standards  and  all  the 
Reformed  and  Lutheran  Confessions  teach  that  the  true 
ground  of  justification  is  the  perfect  righteousness 
(active  and  passive)  of  Christ,  imputed  to  the  believer 
and  received  by  faith  alone.  S.  Cat.,  Q.  33.  This  is 
proved — 

(1.)  Because  the  Scriptures  insist  everywhere  that  we 
are  not  justified  by  works.  This  is  affirmed  of  works 
in  general — of  all  kinds  of  works,  natural  or  gracious, 
without  distinction.  Rom.  iv.  4;  xi.  G. 

(2.)  Because  the  Scriptures  declare  that  good  works, 
of  whatever  kind,  instead  of  being  this  ground  of  justi- 
fication, are  possible  only  as  its  consequences:  u  For  sin 
shall  not  have  dominion  over  you,  for  ye  are  not  under 
the  law,  but  under  grace;"  "But  now  we  are  delivered 
from  the  law,  that  being  dead  wherein  we  were  held  ; 
that  we  should  serve  in  newness  of  the  Spirit,  and  not 
in  oldness  of  the  letter."  Rom.  vi.  14;  vii.  6. 

(3.)  Because  the  Scriptures  declare  that  the  obedience 
and  suffering — i.  e.,  perfect  righteousness  or  fulfilment 
of  the  law — by  Christ,  our  Representative,  is  the  true 
ground  of  justification:  "Therefore,  as  by  the  offence 
of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation, 
even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift,  came 
upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life.     For  as  by  one 


JUSTIFICATION.  251 

man's  disobedience  maLy  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the 
obedience  of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous."  Horn, 
v.  18,  19 ;  x.  4 ;  1  Cor.  i.  30 ;  2  Cor.  v.  21 ;  Phil.  iii.  9. 

(4.)  Because  the  Scriptures  affirm  that  this  righteous- 
ness is  imputed  to  the  believer  in  the  act  of  justifica- 
tion. The  phrase  to  impute  sin  or  righteousness  in  its 
scriptural  usage  signifies  simply  to  set  to  one's  account, 
to  lay  to  one's  charge  or  credit  as  the  ground  of  judicial 
process.  Our  sins  are  said  to  have  been  laid  upon 
Christ  (Isa.  liii.  6,  12;  Gal.  iii.  13;  Heb.  ix.  28;  1  Pet. 
ii.  24),  because  their  guilt  was  so  charged  to  his  account 
that  they  were  justly  punished  in  him.  In  like  manner 
Christ's  righteousness  is  imputed  or  its  rewardableness 
is  so  credited  to  the  believer  that  all  the  covenanted  hon- 
ours and  rewards  of  a  perfect  righteousness  henceforth 
rightly  belong  to  him.  Rom.  iv.  4-8;  2  Cor.  v.  19-21. 
For  the  usage  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  equivalents  of 
"imputation,"  see  Gen.  xxxi.  15;  Lev.  vii.  18;  Num. 
xviii.  27-30;  Mark  xv.  28;  Luke  xxii.  37  ;  Horn.  ii. 
26;  iv.  3-9;  2  Cor.  v.  19. 

This  doctrine  of  our  Standards  is  that  of  the  whole 
Protestant  body  of  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  Churches. 

Calvin  says  in  his  Institutes,  B.  3,  chap,  xi.,  §  2:  "A 
man  will  be  justified  by  faith  when,  excluded  from  the 
righteousness  of  works,  he  by  faith  lays  hold  of  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  and,  clothed  in  it,  appears  in 
the  sight  of  God,  not  as  a  sinner,  but  as  righteous." 

The  Heidelberg  Cat,,  Q.  60:  "How  art  thou  justi- 
fied in  the  sight  of  God?  Only  by  a  true  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ ;  so  that,  though  my  conscience  accuse  me 
that  1  have  grossly  transgressed  all  the  commandments 
of  God,  and   kept  none  of  them,  and  am   still   inclined 


252  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

to  all  evil,  notwithstanding,  God,  without  any  merit  of 
mine,  but  only  of  mere  grace,  grants  and  imputes  to 
me,  the  perfect  satisfaction,  righteousness  and  holiness 
of  Christ."  .... 

Lutheran  Form,  of  Concord :  "  That  righteousness 
which  before  God  is  of  mere  grace  imputed  to  faith,  or 
to  the  believer,  is  the  obedience,  suffering  and  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  by  which  he  for  our  sakes  satisfied  the 

law  and  expiated  our  sins On  which  account  his 

obedience  ....  is  imputed  to  us;  so  that  God,  on 
account  of  that  whole  obedience,  ....  remits  our 
sins,  reputes  us  as  good  and  just,  and  gives  us  eternal 
salvation/' 

4th.  That  the  essential  and  sole  condition  upon  which 
this  gracious  imputation  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
to  the  believer  proceeds  is  that  he  exercise  faith  in  or 
on  Christ  as  his  righteousness  or  ground  of  acceptance 
and  justification.  Faith  is  here  called  the  "condition" 
of  justification,  because  it  is  an  essential  requisite,  and 
necessary  instrument  whereby  the  soul,  always  treated 
as  a  free  agent,  appropriates  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
which  is  the  legal  ground  of  justification. 

That  faith  in  or  on  Christ,  and  no  other  grace,  is 
always  represented  in  Scripture  as  the  necessary  instru- 
ment or  means  of  justification,  is  proved.  Gal.  ii.  16; 
Rom.  iv.  9  ;  Acts  xvi.  31. 

That  faith  is  the  instrument  whereby  the  soul  appre- 
hends the  true  ground  of  justification  in  the  righteous- 
uess  of -Christ,  and  is  not  itself,  as  Arminians  pretend, 
that  ground,  is  proved — 

(1.)  Because,  as  above  shown,  the  vicarious  obedience 
and  suffering  of  Christ  is  that  ground. 


JUSTIFICATION.  253 

(2.^  Because  faith  is  "a  work,"  and  Paul  asserts  that 
justification  on  the  ground  of  works  is  impossible. 
'  (3.)  Because  faith  in  or  on  Christ  evidently  rests 
upon  that  which  is  without  itself,  and  from  its  very 
nature  is  incapable  of  laying  the  foundation  for  a  legal 
justification. 

(4.)  Because  the  Scriptures  constantly  affirm  that  we 
are  justified  "  through"  or  by  means  of  faith,  but  never 
on  account  of  or  for  the  sake  of  faith.  Rom.  v.  1;  Gal. 
ii.  16. 

5th.  This  faith  itself  is  not  our  own,  but  a  gracious 
gift  of  God.  Eph.  ii.  7,  8 ;  Acts  x.  44. 

6th.  While  it  is  faith  alone,  unassociated  with  any 
other  grace,  which  is  the  sole  instrument  of  justification, 
yet  it  is  never  alone  in  the  justified  person,  but  when 
genuine  is  always  accompanied  with  all  other  Christian 
graces.  To  our  doctrine  of  justification  the  famous 
passage  in  James  ii.  14  is  often  objected.  But  Paul 
and  James  are  speaking  of  different  things.  Paul 
teaches  that  faith  alone  justifies.  He  is  arguing  against 
Pharisees  and  legalists.  James  teaches  that  a  faith 
which  is  alone — that  is,  a  dead  faith — will  not  justify. 
He  is  arguing  against  nominal  Christians  who  would 
hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness.  Paul  uses  the  word 
"justify"  in  the  sense  of  God's  justification  of  the 
sinner,  to  which  faith  and  not  works  is  prerequisite. 
James  uses  the  word  to  justify  in  the  sense  of  prove 
true,  or  real,  in  which  sense  faith  is  justified  or  proved 
genuine  by  works.  Consequently  orthodox  theologians 
have  always  acknowledged  that  while  faith  alone  justi- 
fies, a  faith  which  is  alone,  or  unassociated  with  other 
graces  and   fruitless   in   good   works,   will   not  justify. 


j54  confession  of  faith. 

u  Works,"  says  Luther,  "  are  not  taken  into  considera- 
tion when  the  question  respects  justification.  But  true 
faith  will  no  more  fail  to  produce  them  than  the  sun 
can  cease  to  give  light." 

Section  III. — Christ,  by  his  obedience  and  death,  did  fully 
discharge  the  debt  of  all  those  that  are  thus  justified,  and  did 
make  a  proper,  real  and  full  satisfaction,  to  his  Father's  justice 
in  their  behalf.6  Yet,  inasmuch  as  he  was  given  by  the  Father 
for  them,7  and  his  obedience  and  satisfaction  accepted  in  their 
stead,8  and  both  freely,  not  for  anything  in  them,  their  justifica- 
tion is  only  of  free  grace  ;9  that  both  the  exact  justice  and  rich 
grace  of  God  might  be  glorified  in  the  justification  of  sinners.10 

«  Rom.  v.  8-10,  19;  1  Tim.  ii.  5,  6;  Ileb.  x.  10,  14;  Dan.  ix.  24,  26; 
Isa.  liii.  4-6,  10-12.— »  Rom.  viii.  32.— 8  2  Cor.  v.  21 ;  Matt.  iii.  17  j  Eph.  v. 
2.— 9  Rom.  iii.  24;  Eph.  i.  7.— 10  Rom.  iii.  26 ;  Eph.  ii.  7. 

The  first  truth  asserted  in  this  Section  is,  that  Christ, 
by  his  obedience  and  death,  has  fully  paid  the  debt  of 
those  who  are  justified,  and  that  he  made  for  them  a 
proper,  real  and  full  satisfaction  to  his  Father's  justice. 
This  point  we  have  considered  under  Chapter  viii.,  §  5. 

In  connection  with  the  above,  the  second  truth  that  is 
taught  here  is,  that  this  justification  is,  as  it  respects  the 
persons  justified,  from  beginning  to  end,  a  stupendous 
manifestation  of  the  free  grace  of  God. 

The  fact  that  Christ's  righteousness  is  the  ground  of 
justification,  and  that  his  righteousness  in  strict  rigour 
fully  satisfies  all  the  demands  of  the  divine  law,  instead 
of  being  inconsistent  with  the  perfect  freedom  and  gra- 
ciousness  of  justification,  vastly  enhances  its  grace.  It 
is  evident  that  God  must  either  sacrifice  his  law,  his  elect 
or  his  Son.  Gal.  ii.  21 ;  iii.  21.  It  is  no  less  plain  that 
it  is  a  far  greater  expression  of  love  and  free  grace  to 


JUSTIFICATION.  255 

save  the  elect  at  the  expense  of  such  a  sacrifice  than  it 
would  be  to  save  them  either  at  the  sacrifice  of  principle 
or  in  case  no  sacrifice  of  any  kind  was  needed.  The 
cross  of  Christ  is  the  focus  in  which  the  most  intense 
rays  alike  of  divine  grace  and  justice  meet  together, 
and  in  which  they  are  perfectly  reconciled.  This  is  the 
highest  reach  of  justice,  and  at  the  same  time  and  for 
the  same  cause  the  highest  reach  of  grace  the  universe 
can  ever  see.  The  self-assumption  of  the  penalty  upon  the 
part  of  the  eternal  Son  of  God  is  the  highest  conceivable 
vindication  of  the  absolute  inviolability  of  justice,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  highest  conceivable  expression  of 
infinite  love.  Justice  is  vindicated  in  the  vicarious  suf- 
fering of  the  very  penalty  in  strict  rigour.  Free  grace 
is  manifested — (1.)  In  the  admittance  of  a  vicarious 
sufferer.  (2.)  In  the  gift  of  God's  beloved  Son  for  that 
service.  (3.)  In  the  sovereign  election  of  the  persons 
to  be  represented  by  him.  (4.)  In  the  glorious  rewards 
which  accrue  to  them  on  condition  of  that  represent- 
ation. 

Section  IV. — God  did,  from  all  eternity,  decree  to  justify  all 
the  elect  ;u  and  Christ  did,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  die  for  dieir 
sins,  and  rise  again  for  their  justification.12  Nevertheless,  they 
are  not  justified  until  the  Holy  Spirit  doth  in  due  time  actually 
apply  Christ  unto  them.13 

11  Gal.  iii.  8 ;  1  Pet.  i.  2,  19,  20 ;  Rom.  viii.  30.— 12  Gal.  iv.  4;  1  Tim.  ii. 
6;  Rom.  iv.  25.— 13  Col.  i.  21,  22;  Gal.  ii.  16;  Tit.  iii.  4-7. 

It  has  been  objected  to  our  doctrine  by  some  Armin- 
ians,  and  held  as  a  part  of  it  by  some  Antinomians,  that 
if  Christ  literally  paid  the  debt  of  his  elect  in  his  obe- 
dience and  suffering  when  on  earth,  it  must  follow  that 


256  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

the  elect  have  been  justified  from  the  moment  that  debt 
was  paid.  The  Scriptures,  on  the  contrary,  as  well  as 
all  Christian  experience,  make  it  certain  that  no  one  is 
justified  until  the  moment  that  God  gives  him  saving 
faith  in  Chris* 

Christ  paid  the  penal  not  the  money  debt  of  his 
people.  It  is  a  matter  of  free  grace  that  his  substitu- 
tion was  admitted.  The  satisfaction,  therefore,  does  not 
liberate,  ipso  facto,  like  the  payment  of  a  money  debt, 
but  sets  the  real  criminal  free  only  on  such  conditions 
and  at  such  times  as  had  been  previously  agreed  upon 
between  God,  the  gracious  sovereign,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  Christ,  their  representative  and  substitute,  on  the 
other  hand.  Christ  died  for  his  people  in  execution  of 
a  covenant  between  himself  and  his  Father,  entered  into 
in  eternity.  The  effects  of  his  death,  therefore,  event- 
uate precisely  as  and  when  it  is  provided  in  the  covenant 

that  it  should  do  so. 

• 

Section  V. — God  doth  continue  to  forgive  the  sins  of  those 
that  are  justified;1*  and  although  they  can  never  fall  from  the 
state  of  justification,15  yet  they  may  by  their  sins  fall  under  God's 
fatherly  displeasure,  and  not  have  the  light  of  his  countenance 
restored  unto  them  until  they  humble  themselves,  confess  their 
sins,  beg  pardon,  and  renew  their  faith  and  repentance.16 

14  Matt.  vi.  12;  1  John  i.  7,  9;  ii.  1,  2.—  ™  Luke  xxii.  32;  John  x.  28; 
Heb.  x.  14.— 16  Ps.  lxxxix.  31-33 ;  li.  7-12 ;  xxxii.  5 ;  Matt.  xxvi.  75 ;  1 
Cor.  xi.  30,  32 ;  Luke  i.  20. 

This  Section  teaches  that  justification  changes  radi- 
cally and  permanently  the  relation  which  the  subject  of 
it  sustains  both  to  God  and  to  the  demands  of  the  divine 
law,  viewed  as  a  condition  of  favour.  Before  justifica- 
tion, God  is  an  angry  Judge,  holding  the  sentence  of  the 


JUSTIFICATION.  257 

condemning  law  for  a  season  in  suspense.  After  justifi- 
cation, the  law  instead  of  condemning  acquits,  and  de- 
mands that  the  subject  be  regarded  and  treated  like  a 
son,  as  i  provided  in  the  eternal  covenant,  and  God,  as 
a  loving  Father,  proceeds  to  execute  all  the  kind  offices 
which  belong  to  the  new  relation.  This  requires,  of 
course,  discipline  and  correction,  as  well  as  instruction 
and  consolation. 

All  suffering  is  either  mere  calamity,  when  viewed 
aside  from  all  intentional  relation  to  human  character; 
or  penalty,  when  designed  to  satisfy  justice  for  sin;  or 
chastisement,  when  designed  to  correct  and  improve  the 
offender.  Irrespective  of  the  economy  of  redemption, 
all  suffering  is  to  the  reprobate  instalments  of  the  eter- 
nal penalty.  After  justification,  all  suffering,  of  what- 
ever kind,  is  fatherly  chastisement,  designed  to  correct 
their  faults  and  improve  their  graces.  And  as  they 
came,  in  the  first  instance,  to  God  in  the  exercise  of  re- 
pentance and  faith  in  Christ,  so  must  they  always  con- 
tinue to  return  to  him  after  every  partial  wandering  and 
loss  of  his  sensible  favour  in  the  exercise  of  the  same 
repentance  and  faith ;  and  thus  only  can  they  hope  to 
have  his  pardon  sensibly  renewed  to  them.  Examine 
the  proof-texts  appended  above  to  the  text  of  this  Sec- 
tion of  the  Confession. 

Section  VI. — The  justification  of  believers  under  the  Old 
Testament  was,  in  all  these  respects,  one  and  the  same  with  the 
justification  of  believers  under  the  New  Testament.17 

»  3al.  iii.  9,  13,  14;   Rom.  iv.  22-24;   Heb.  xiii.  8. 

The  truth   taught  in  this  Section   has  already  been 

fully  proved  above,  under  Chapter  vii.,  §§  4,  5  and  6  ; 

and  Chapter  viii.,  §  6. 
17 


258  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  and 
second  Sections? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  third  ? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth? 

5.  What  is  the  fifth  f 

6.  What  is  the  sixth  ? 

7.  How  can  you  prove  that  God  justifies  all  those  and  only 
those  whom  he  has  regenerated  ? 

8.  AVhat  is  the  first  proposition  laid  down  as  to  the  nature  of 
justification? 

9.  What  is  the  Romanist  view  as  to  this  matter? 

10.  What  is  the  view  of  those  who  hold  the  moral-influence 
theory  of  the  atonement? 

11.  When  and  by  whom  was  this  truth  first  clearly  defined  and 
vindicated  ? 

12.  State  the  proof  that  justification  is  a  judicial  act  of  God 
declaring  a  person  legally  righteous,  and  not  an  act  of  gracious 
power  making  him  morally  pure. 

13.  What  is  the  second  proposition  laid  down  as  to  the  nature 
of  justification  ? 

14.  State  the  nature,  grounds  and  effect  of  mere  pardon. 

15.  State  in  contrast  the  nature,  grounds  and  effect  of  justifi- 
cation. 

16.  Prove  that  justification  is  not  mere  pardon. 

17.  Upon  what  ground  does  justification  proceed  ? 

18.  What  is  the  Arminian  view  as  to  the  nature  and  ground 
of  justification? 

19.  State  in  contrast  the  true  view. 

20.  State  the  proofs  that  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  iiaputed 
and  received  by  faith  alone,  is  the  true  ground  of  justification. 

21.  What  is  the  scriptural  usage  of  the  phrase,  "  to  impute 
Bin  or  righteousness  ?" 

22.  What  does  Calvin  teach  is  the  ground  of  justification? 

23.  What  is  taught  on  this  head  in  the  Heidelberg  Catecl  Ism .1 


JUSTIFICATION.  259 

24.  What  is  taught  in  the  Lutheran  Form,  of  Concord  ? 

25.  What  relation  does  faith  sustain  to  justification  ? 

26.  Prove  that  only  faith,  and  faith  alone,  is  the  instrument  of 
justification. 

27.  What  special  act  of  faith  is  the  sole  means  of  justification? 

28.  Prove  that  faith  is  not  the  ground  of  justification. 

29.  Prove  that  this  faith  is  the  gift  of  God. 

30.  If  it  is  faith  only  that  is  the  means  of  justification,  is  true 
faith  ever  alone  in  the  experience  of  the  person  justified  ? 

31.  How  can  the  doctrine  taught  by  James  in  the  second 
chapter  of  his  Epistle  be  reconciled  with  that  taught  by  Paul  on 
this  subject  ? 

32.  What  does  Luther  say  on  the  subject? 

33.  What  is  the  first  truth  taught  in  the  third  Section?  and 
where  has  it  been  previously  considered  ? 

34.  What  is  the  second  great  principle  here  maintained  in  con- 
nection with  the  former? 

35.  Prove  that  the  literal  satisfaction  of  divine  justice  by 
Christ  enhances  instead  of  detracts  from  the  free  grace  of  the 
gospel. 

36.  What  is  taught  in  the  fourth  Section? 

37.  What  have  some  Arminians  objected  to  our  doctrine  at 
this  point? 

38.  Show  that  the  fact  that  Christ  paid  our  penal  debts  before 
we  were  born  does  not  effect  our  justification  before  we  actually 
believe. 

39.  What  is  taught  in  the  fifth  Section  ? 

40.  What  change  does  justification  effect  in  the  relations  of  the 
person  justified? 

41.  Into  what  three  classes  can  all  sufferings  jf  any  kind  be 
distributed? 

42.  Of  what  kind  is  all  the  suffering  of  the  reprobate? 

43.  Of  what  kind  is  all  the  suffering  of  the  justified  ? 

44.  What  is  taught  in  the  sixth  Section,  and  where  ras  it 
been  previously  considered  ? 


CHAPTER    XII. 

OF    ADOPTION. 

ALL  those  that  are  justified,  God  vouchsafeth,  in  and  for  his 
only  Son,  Je.ms  Christ,  to  make  partakers  of  the  grace  of  adop- 
tion:1 by  which  they  are  taken  into  the  number,  and  enjoy  the 
liberties  and  privileges  of  the  children  of  God  ;2  have  his  name 
put  upon  them,3  receive  the  spirit  of  adoption  ;4  have  access  to 
the  throne  of  grace  with  boldness  ;5  are  enabled  to  cry,  Abba, 
Father;6  are  pitied,7  protected,8  provided  for,9  and  chastened  by 
him  as  by  a  father  ;10  yet  never  cast  oif,11  but  sealed  to  the  day  of 
redemption,12  and  inherit  the  promises,13  as  heirs  of  everlasting 
salvation.14 

1  Eph.  i.  5  ;  Gal.  iv.  4,  5.— '*  Rom.  viii.  17 ;  John  i.  12.— 3  Jer.  xiv.  9;  2 
Cor.  vi.  18;  Rev.  iii.  12.— 4  Rom.  viii.  15.— 5  Eph.  iii.  12;  Rom.  v.  2.— 
»  Gal.  iv.  6.— t  Ps.  ciii.  13.— 8  Prov.  xiv.  26.— 9  Matt.  vi.  30,  32;  1  Pet.  v. 
;._io  Heb.  xii.  6.— »  Lam.  iii.  31.— w  Eph.  iv.  30.— "  Heb.  vi.  12.—'*  1  Pet. 
..  3,  4 ;  Heb.  i.  14. 

The  instant  a  believer  is  united  to  Christ  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  faith,  there  is  accomplished  in  him  simulta- 
neously and  inseparably  two  things:  (1.)  A  total 
change  of  relation  to  God,  and  to  the  law  as  a  covenant 
of  life;  and  (2)  a  change  of  his  inward  spiritual  nature. 
The  change  of  relation  is  represented  by  justification— 
the  change  of  nature  by  regeneration.  Regeneration 
is  an  act  of  God,  originating,  by  a  new  creation,  a  new 
spiritual  life  in  the  Heart  of  the  subject.  The  first  and 
'nstant  act  of  that  new  creating  consequent    upon  his 

260 


ADOPTION.  2G1 

regeneration,  is  Faith,  or  a  believing,  trusting  embrace 
of  the  person  and  work  of  Christ.  Upon  the  exercise 
of  faith  by  the  regenerated  soul,  justification  is  the 
instant  act  of  God,  on  the  ground  of  that  perfect  right- 
eousness which  the  sinner's  faith  has  apprehended,  de- 
claring him  to  be  free  from  all  condemnation,  and  to 
have  a  legal  right  to  the  relations  and  benefits  secured 
by  the  covenant  which  Christ  has  fulfilled  in  his  be- 
half. Sanctification  is  the  progressive  growth  to- 
ward the  perfect  maturity  of  that  new  life  which  was 
implanted  in  regeneration.  Adoption  presents  the  new 
creature  in  his  new  relations — his  new  relations  entered 
upon  with  a  congenial  heart,  and  his  new  life  develop- 
ing in  a  congenial  home,  and  surrounded  with  those 
relations  which  foster  its  growth  and  crown  it  with 
blessedness.  Justification  effects  only  a  change  of  re- 
lations. Regeneration  and  sanctification  effect  only 
inherent  moral  and  spiritual  states  of  soul.  Adoption 
includes  both.  As  set  forth  in  Scripture,  it  embraces  in 
one  complex  view  the  newly-regenerated  creature  in  the 
new  relations  into  which  he  is  introduced  by  justifica- 
tion. 

This  divine  sonship,  into  which  the  believer  is  intro- 
duced by  adoption,  includes  the  following  principal 
elements  and  advantages  : 

1st.  Derivation  of  spiritual  nature  from  God  :  "  That 
ye  might  be  partakers  of  the  divine  natllre.,,  2  Pet.  i. 
4;  John  i.  13;  James  i.  18 ;  1  John  v.  18. 

2d.  The  being  born  in  the  image  of  God,  the  bearing 
his  likeness:  "And  have  put  on  the  new  man,  which  is 
renewed  in  knowledge,  after  the  image  of  him  that 
created  him."  Col.  iii.  10;  Rom.  viii.  29;  2  Cor.  iii.  18. 


2G2  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

3d.  The  bearing  his  name.  1  John  iii.  1 ;  Rev.  ii.  17 
iii.  12. 

4th.  The  being  made  the  objects  of  his  peculiar  love 
"  That  the  world  may  know  that  thou  hast  sent  me,  and 
hast  loved  them  as  thou  hast  loved  me."  John  xvii.  23 
Rom.  v.  5-8. 

5th.  The  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  (Gal.  iv. 
6),  who  forms  in  us  a  filial  spirit,  or  a  spirit  becoming 
the  children  of  God;  obedient  (1  Pet.  i.  14;  2  John  6), 
free  from  sense  of  guilt,  legal  bondage  and  fear  of  death 
(Rom.  viii.  15-21 ;  Gal.  v.  1 ;  Heb.  ii.  15),  and  elevated 
with  a  holy  boldness  and  royal  dignity  (Heb.  x.  19,  22 ; 
1  Pet.  ii.  9 ;  iv.  14). 

6th.  Present  protection,  consolation  and  abundant 
supplies.  Ps.  cxxv.  2 ;  Isa.  lxvi.  13 ;  Luke  xii.  27-32 ; 
John  xiv.  18 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  21-23 ;  2  Cor.  i.  4. 

7th.  Present  fatherly  chastisements  for  our  good,  in- 
cluding both  spiritual  and  temporal  afflictions.  Ps.  Ii. 
11,  12 ;  Heb.  xii.  5-11. 

8th.  The  certain  inheritance  of  the  riches  of  our 
Father's  glory  as  heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with 
Christ  (Rom.  viii.  17 ;  James  ii.  5 ;  1  Pet.  i.  4 ;  iii.  7), 
including  the  exaltation  of  our  bodies  in  fellowship  with 
the  Lord.  Rom.  viii.  23;  Phil.  iii.  21. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  subject  of  this  Chapter? 

2.  What  two  changes  take  effect  instantly  upon  the  act  of 
r&ith  ? 

3.  What  is  regeneration  ? 

4.  What  is  faith  and  its  relation  to  regeneration  ? 


ADOPTION.  263 

5.  What  is  justification  and  its  relation  to  faith  ? 

6.  What  is  adoption  and  its  relation  to  regeneration  and  justi- 
fication ? 

7.  What  are  the  principal  elements  embraced  in  this  divine 
sonship  ? 

8.  What  are  the  principal  advantages  which  attend  it  ? 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

OF   SANCTIFICATION. 

Section  I. — They  who  are  effectually  called  and  regenerated, 
having  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit  created  in  them,  are  further 
sanctified  really  and  personally,  through  the  virtue  of  Christ's 
death  and  resurrection,1  by  his  Word  and  Spirit  dwelling  in 
them  ;2  the  dominion  of  the  whole  body  of  sin  is  destroyed,3  and 
the  several  lusts  thereof  are  more  and  more  weakened  and  mor- 
tified,4 and  they  more  and  more  quickened  and  strengthened  in 
all  saving  graces,5  to  the  practice  of  true  holiness,  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.6 

Section  II. — This  sanctification  is  throughout  in  the  whole 
man,7  yet  imperfect  in  this  life  :  there  abide  still  some  remnants 
of  corruption  in  every  part  :8  whence  ariseth  a  continual  and 
irreconcilable  war ;  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the 
Spirit  against  the  flesh.9 

Section  III. — In  which  war,  although  the  remaining  corrup- 
tion for  a  time  may  much  prevail,10  yet,  through  the  continual 
supply  of  strength  from  the  sanctifying  Spirit  of  Christ,  the  re- 
generate part  doth  overcome  :n  and  so  the  saints  grow  in  grace,11 
perfecting  holiness  in  the  fear  of  God.13 

1  1  Cor.  vi.  11 ;  Acts  xx.  32;  Phil.  iii.  10;  Rom.  vi.  5,  6.— 2  John  xvii. 
17;  Eph.  v.  26;  2  Thess.  ii.  13.— 3  Rom.  vi.  6,  14.— *  Gal.  v.  24:  Rom.  viii. 
IS.— •  Col.  i.  11;  Eph.  iii.  16-19.—  6  2  Cor.  vii.  1;  Heb.  xii.  14.— T  1  Thess. 

/.  23.— 81  John  i.  10;  Rom.  vii.  IS,  23;  Phil.  iii.  12.— »  Gal.  v.  17;  1  Pet. 
ii.  II.—10  Rom.  vii.  23.— »  Rom.  vi.  14;    1  John  v.  4?    Eph.  iv.  15,  16.— 

*  2  Pet.  iii.  18 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  IS.—12  2  Cor.  vii.  1. 

This  Chapter  teaches  the  following  propositions : 
1st.  All  of  those  in  whom  God  has  by  regeneration 

264 


SANCTIFICATION.  265 

created  a  new  spiritual  nature  continue  under  his  gra- 
cious influence,  his  Word  and  Spirit  dwelling  in  them, 
and  thus  have  the  grace  implanted  in  them  developed 
more  and  more. 

2d.  This  work  of  sanctification  involves  both  the 
gradual  destruction  of  the  old  body  of  sin  and  the 
quickening  and  strengthening  of  all  the  graces  of  the 
new  man,  and  the  inward  purification  of  the  heart  and 
mind,  as  well  as  all  those  holy  actions  which  proceed 
from  them. 

3d.  This  work  of  sanctification  involves  the  entire 
man — intellect,  affections  and  will,  soul  and  body. 

4th.  It  is  never  perfect  in  this  life,  but  in  every  case, 
as  in  that  of  Paul,  there  remains  more  or  less  of  the 
old  "law  in  our  members,"  warring  against  the  law  of 
our  mind. 

5th.  That  nevertheless,  from  a  constant  supply  of 
strength  from  the  sanctifying  Spirit  of  Christ,  the  gra- 
cious element  in  the  believer's  nature  prevails,  and  he 
gradually  advances  in  holiness  until  he  is  made  perfect 
at  death. 

1st.  God,  having  implanted  in  regeneration  a  new 
spiritual  nature  in  the  subject  of  his  grace,  always  con- 
tinues to  foster  and  develop  that  principle  by  the  in- 
dwelling of  his  Word  and  Spirit  until  it  attains  full 
perfection. 

The  word  "to  sanctify"  is  used  in  two  different 
senses  in  Scripture:  (1.)  To  consecrate,  or  set  apart 
from  a  common  to  a  sacred  use.  John  x.  36 ;  Matt, 
ixiii.  IT.  (2.)  To  render  morally  pure  or  holy.  1  Cor. 
vi.  11 ;  Heb.  xiii.  12.  In  the  latter  sense  of  the  word, 
regeneratnn  is  the  commencement  of  sanctification,  and 


&6Q  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

sanctification  is  the  completion  of  the  work  commenced 
in  regeneration.  As  regeneration  is  an  act  of  God's 
free  grace,  so  sanctification  is  a  gracious  work  of  God, 
and  eminently  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  attributed  to 
God  absolutely  (1  Thess.  v.  23) :  to  the  Son  (Eph.  v. 
25,  26),  and  pre-eminently  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose 
especial  office  in  the  economy  of  redemption  it  is  to 
apply  the  grace  secured  through  the  mediation  of  the 
Son. 

The  means  of  sanctification  are  of  two  distinct  orders, 
(a)  inward  and  (b)  outward. 

The  inward  means  of  sanctification  is  Faith.  Faith 
is  the  instrument  of  our  justification,  and  hence  of  our 
deliverance  from  condemnation  and  communion  with 
God,  the  organ  of  our  union  with  Christ  and  fellowship 
with  his  Spirit.  Faith,  moreover,  is  that  act  of  the  re- 
generated soul  whereby  it  embraces  and  experiences  the 
power  of  the  truth,  and  whereby  the  inward  experi- 
ences of  the  heart  and  the  outward  actions  of  the  life  are 
brought  into  obedience  to  the  truth. 

The  outward  means  of  sanctification  are — 

(1.)  The  truth  as  revealed  in  the  inspired  Scriptures: 
"  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth,  thy  word  is  truth." 
John  xvii.  17,  19.  "As  new-born  babes  desire  the 
sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby. " 
1  Pet.  i.  22 ;  ii.  2.  The  truth,  as  the  outward  means 
of  sanctification,  stands  in  correlation  to  faith,  the  in- 
ward means  of  it.  Conf.  Faith,  chap,  xiv.,  §  2  :  This  faith 
"acteth  differently  upon  that  which  every  passage  thereof 
*Tontaineth  ;  yielding  obedience  to  the  commands,  trem- 
bling at  the  threatenings  and  embracing  the  promises 
of  God  for  this  life  and  that  which  is  to  come."     By 


SANCTIFICATION.  2G7 

this  means  the  trutn  nourishes  and  exercises  the  princi- 
ples of  grace  implanted  in  the  soul. 

(2.)  The  sacraments.  Matt.  iii.  11;  1  Cor.  xii.  13; 
1  Pet.  iii.  21. 

(3.)  Prayer  is  a  means  of  sanctification,  (a)  as  the  act 
in  which  the  soul  engages  in  communion  with  God,  and 
(6)  since  God  has  promised  to  answer  believing  prayer 
with  the  donation  of  spiritual  gifts.  John  xiv.  13,  14. 

(4.)  The  gracious  discipline  of  God's  providence. 
John  xv.  2;  Rom.  v.  3,  4 ;  Heb.  xii.  5-11. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  while  the  subject  is  pas- 
sive with  respect  to  that  divine  act  of  grace  whereby  he 
is  regenerated,  after  he  is  regenerated  he  co-operates  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  work  of  sanctification.  The  Holy 
Ghost  gives  the  grace  and  prompts  and  directs  in  its 
exercise,  and  the  soul  exercises  it.  Thus,  while  sancti-l 
jfication  is  a  grace,  it  is  also  a  duty.  And  the  soul  is 
both  bound  and  encouraged  to  use  with  diligence,  in 
dependence  upon  the  Holy  Spirit,  all  the  means  for  its 
spiritual  renovation,  and  to  form  those  habits  of  resist- 
ing evil  and  of  right  action  in  which  sanctification  so 
largely  consists.  The  fruits  of  sanctification  are  good 
works.  An  action  to  be  good  must  have  its  origin  in  a 
holy  principle  in  the  heart,  and  must  be  conformed  to 
the  law  of  God.  Although  not  the  ground  of  our 
acceptance,  good  works  are  absolutely  essential  to  sal- 
vation as  the  necessary  consequences  of  a  gracious  state 
of  soul  and  perpetual  requirements  of  the  divine  law. 
Gal.  v.  22;  Eph.  ii.  10;  John  xiv.  21. 

2d.  This  work  of  sanctification  involves  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  old  body  of  sin,  as  well  as  the  develop- 
ment of  the  grace    implanted    in    regeneration ;    it    is 


2t>8  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

also  first  inward  and  spiritual,  and  then  outward  and 
practical. 

That  the  whole  body  of  death  is  not  immediately 
destroyed  in  the  instant  of  regeneration  is  plainly  taught 
in  the  sixth  and  seventh  chapters  of  Romans,  in  the 
recorded  experience  of  many  biblical  characters,  and  in 
the  universal  experience  of  Christians  in  modern  times. 
It  hence  necessarily  follows  that  the  tendencies  graciously 
implanted  and  sustained  must  come  in  conflict  with  the 
tendencies  to  evil  which  remain.  They  can  co-exist 
only  in  a  state  of  active  antagonism,  and  as  the  one 
gains  in  prevalence  the  other  must  lose.  "  They  that 
are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh,  with  the  affections 
and  lusts."  Gal.  v.  24.  "Mortify,  therefore,  your  mem- 
bers which  are  upon  the  earth."  Col.  iii.  5. 

That  this  work  begins  in  the  state  of  the  heart  and 
governs  the  life  by  previously  governing  the  heart,  is 
evident  (a)  from  the  known  fact  of  human  nature  that 
the  moral  character  of  all  actions  is  derived  from  the 
inward  moral  dispositions  and  affections  which  prompt 
to  them.  (6.)  The  same  is  asserted  in  the  Scriptures. 
Luke  vi.  45.  As  the  character  of  the  fruit  is  determined 
by  the  character  of  the  tree  which  produces  it,  so  the 
moral  character  of  actions  depends  upon  the  heart  from 
which  they  proceed.  Either  make  the  tree  good  and  its 
fruit  good,  or  else  the  tree  corrupt  and  its  fruit  corrupt, 
(c.)  Truly  good  works  can  be  produced  only  by  a  heart  in 
living  union  with  Christ:  "As  the  branch  cannot  bear 
fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine ;  no  more  can 
ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me."  John  xv.  4. 

3d.  This  work  of  sanctification  involves  the  entire 
man—  -intellect,  affections  and  will,  soul  and  body.    This 


SANCTIFICATION.  269 

is  proved  (1)  from  the  necessity  of  the  case.  Our  nat- 
ural sinful  condition  involves  blindness  of  mind,  as  well 
as  hardness  or  perverseness  of  heart.  (2.)  From  the  fact 
that  we  are  sanctified  by  means  of  the  truth.  (3.)  It  is 
explicitly  asserted  in  Scripture  that  sanctification  in- 
volves spiritual  illumination :  "  That  the  God  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  give  unto  you  the  spirit  of  wis- 
dom and  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  him,  the  eyes 
of  your  understanding  being  enlightened,  that  ye  may 
know,"  etc.  Eph.  i.  17,  18;  Col.  iii.  10;  2  Cor.  iv.  6; 
1  Thess.  v.  23. 

As  our  bodies  are  integral  parts  of  our  persons,  their 
instincts  and  appetites  act  immediately  upon  the  pas- 
sions of  our  souls,  and  hence  they  must  be  brought 
subject  to  the  control  of  the  sanctified  will,  and  all  the 
members  of  the  body,  as  organs  of  the  soul,  made  in- 
struments of  righteousness  unto  God.  Rom.  vi.  13;  1 
Thess.  iv.  4. 

4th.  This  work  of  sanctification  is  never  perfected  in 
this  life. 

Different  parties  of  Perfectionists  maintain  that  per- 
fection is  possible  in  this  life  in  different  senses. 

Pelagians  maintain  (1)  that  the  law  of  God  respects 
only  the  voluntary  exercises  and  actions,  and  not  the 
states  of  the  soul.  (2.)  That  obligation  is  always  limited 
by  ability — that  the  law  of  God  can  demand  no  more 
than  its  subject  is  fully  able  to  render.  Hence  from 
the  very  limits  of  moral  obligation  it  follows  that  every 
man  is  always  perfectly  able  to  do  all  that  is  required 
of  him.     Hence  he  can  be  perfect  whenever  he  pleases. 

Arminian  and  Papist  Perfectionists  hold  (1)  that  men 
pan  do  nothing  morally  right  without  divine  grace,  anr1 


270  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

(2)  that  even  with  this  grace  no  man  is  able  perfectly  to 
keep  the  original  Adamic  law  of  absolute  perfection. 
They  maintain,  however,  that  God  for  Christ's  merits' 
sake  has  graciously  lowered  the  demands  of  the  law  in 
the  case  of  believers  from  absolute  perfection  to  faith 
and  evangelical  obedience.  They  hold  that  it  is  the 
privilege  and  duty  of  all  men  in  this  life  to  attain  to  a 
state  of  perfect  love  and  sincere  obedience  to  the  gospel 
law,  which  they  call  gracious  or  Christian  perfection. 

The  Papists  make  a  distinction  between  voluntary 
transgressions  of  known  law,  and  concupiscence  or  the 
involuntary  first  movements  of  the  remains  of  corrup- 
tion within  the  regenerate.  The  latter  they  deny  to  be 
properly  of  the  nature  of  sin.  John  Wesley  teaches 
the  same.     Methodist  Doctrinal  Tracts,  pp.  294-312. 

But  that  concupiscence,  or  the  first  movement  and  ten- 
dencies of  evil  desire  in  the  hearts  of  regenerated  men,  is 
of  the  nature  of  sin  is  distinctly  affirmed  in  our  Stand- 
ards. Confession  of  Faith,  chap,  vii.,  §  5.  That  this  is 
true  is  proved — 

(1.)  All  men  judge  that  the  moral  state  of  the  soul 
which  determines,  or  tends  to  determine,  evil  action  is 
itself  essentially  evil,  and  indeed  the  true  source  of  the 
evil  in  the  action. 

(2.)  All  genuine  Christian  experience  involves  the 
same  practical  judgment.  The  main  element  in  all 
genuine  conviction  of  sin  is,  not  simply  that  the  thoughts, 
words  and  feelings  are  wrong,  but  that,  lying  far  below 
all  exercises  or  volitions,  the  nature  is  morally  corrupt, 
it  is  his  deadness  to  divine  things,  blindness,  hardness, 
aversion  to  God,  which  he  is  helpless  to  change,  that 
chiefly  oppresses  the  truly  convicted   man  with  a  sense 


SANCTIFICATION.  271 

of  sin.  And  in  some  degree  the  same  conviction  re- 
mains until  death. 

(3.)  It  is  of  the  essence  of  the  moral  law  that  it  de- 
mands all  that  ought  to  be.  Every  even  the  leapt  de- 
ficiency from  the  whole  measure  of  moral  excellence  that 
ought  to  be  is  of  the  nature  of  sin.  Therefore  nothing 
short  of  absolute  conformity  to  the  Adamic  law  of 
absolute  holiness  is  of  the  nature  of  sinless  perfection, 
or  ought  to  be  called  by  that  name. 

(4.)  All  the  prayers  and  hymns  and  devotional  litera- 
ture of  the  Wesleyan,  and  other  evangelical  churches 
which  profess  a  sort  of  perfectionism,  acknowledge  sin  in 
the  believer.  Dr.  Peck  (Christian  Doct.  of  Perfection) 
admits  that  the  workings  of  concupiscence,  or  remain- 
ing spontaneous  tendency  to  evil  in  the  heart  of  the 
perfect  Christian,  are  an  occasion  for  self-abhorrence  and 
confession,  that  they  need  forgiveness,  and  the  constant 
application  of  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ.  We  agree 
with  this,  and  maintain  therefore  that  these  remains  of 
corruption  in  all  Christians  are  of  the  nature  of  sin, 
and  that  consequently  the  Christians  in  whom  they 
remain  are  not  perfect. 

(5.)  Paul  expressly  calls  concupiscence,  sin  :  "  I  had 
not  known  sin,  but  by  the  law,  for  I  had  not  known 
concupiscence,  except  the  law  had  said,  Thou  shalt  not 
experience  concupiscence."  Rom.  vii.  7.  The  sin  that 
dwelt  in  Paul  wrought  in  him  against  his  will,  and 
wrought  in  him  all  manner  of  concupiscence.  Rom.  vii. 
14-25.  And  yet  this  evil  tendency,  this  law  in  his  mem- 
bers warring  against  the  law  of  his  spirit,  is  expressly 
called  "  sin ;"  and  in  other  passages  called  "  old  man/' 
(tbody  of  sin."  Col.  ii.  ll;iii.  9. 


272  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

((j.)  The  biographies  and  recorded  testimonies  of  all 
the  Scripture  saints  make  it  impossible  to  attribute  sin- 
less perfection  to  any  one  of  them.  Paul  disclaims  it. 
Rom.  vii.  14-25;  Phil.  iii.  12-14.  John  disclaims  it 
in  his  own  behalf  and  that  of  all  Christians.  1  John 
i.  8. 

The  word  "perfect"  is  applied  to  some  men  in  Scrip- 
ture either  to  mark  comparative  excellence,  or  to  assert 
genuine  sincerity  in  profession  and  service.  But  the 
inspired  biographies  of  the  men  themselves,  such  as  of 
David,  Acts  xiii.  22;  Noah,  Gen.  vi.  9,  and  Job,  Job  i. 
1,  prove  very  clearly  that  the  perfection  intended  was 
not  a  sinless  one. 

(7.)  Perfectionism  is  in  conflict  with  the  universal 
experience  and  observation  of  God's  people.  The  per- 
sonal profession  of  it  is  generally  judged  to  be  just 
ground  for  serious  suspicions  as  to  the  claimant's 
mental  soundness  or  moral  sincerity. 

5th.  Nevertheless,  from  a  constant  supply  of  strength 
from  the  sanctifying  Spirit  of  Christ,  the  gracious  ele- 
ment in  the  believer's  nature,  upon  the  whole,  prevails, 
and  he  gradually  advances  in  holiness  until  he  is  ren- 
dered perfect  at  death.  This  precious  truth  follows 
necessarily  from  the  fact,  already  shown,  that  sanctifica- 
tion  is  a  work  of  God's  free  grace  in  execution  of  his 
eternal  purposes  of  salvation.  Wherefore  we  are  "con- 
fident of  this  very  thing,  that  he  which  hath  begun  a 
good  work  in  us  will  perform  it  to  the  day  of  Jesus 
Christ,"  Phil.  i.  6  ;  the  certainty  of  which  will  be  fur- 
ther discussed  under  Chapter  xvii. 


SANCTIFICATION.  273 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  this  Chapter? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  here  taught? 
a   What  is  the  third? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth  f 

5.  What  is  the  fifth  f 

6.  In  what  different  senses  is  the  term  "to  sanctify"  used  in 
{Scripture  ? 

7.  What  is  the  relation  of  the  work  of  sanctification  to  that  of 
regeneration  ? 

8.  Who  is  the  Author  of  sanctification  ? 

9.  What  is  the  inward  means  of  sanctification  ? 

10.  What  are  the  outward  means  of  sanctification? 

11.  In  what  sense  is  sanctification  a  duty  as  well  as  a  grace? 

12.  What  are  the  fruits  of  sanctification  ? 

13.  Show  that  the  work  of  sanctification  involves  the  gradual 
"mortification"  of  the  "old  man,"  as  well  as  the  development 
of  the  graces  implanted  in  regeneration. 

14.  Show  that  the  work  of  sanctification  involves  a  change  in 
the  permanent  inward  state  of  the  soul,  as  the  only  adequate 
source  from  which  holy  actions  can  proceed. 

15.  Prove  that  this  work  of  sanctification  involves  all  the  fac- 
ulties of  the  soul. 

16.  In  what  sense  are  the  bodies  of  believers  said  to  be  sanc- 
tified? 

17.  What  is  the  Pelagian  doctrine  as  to  the  nature  and  ground 
of  that  perfection  which  is  attainable  in  this  life? 

18.  What  is  the  Arminian  and  Papist  view  of  "he  same  subject? 

19.  What  is  the  Arminian  and  Papist  view  as  to  the  moral 
character  of  concupiscence  ? 

20.  What  is  meant  b}7  concupiscence? 

21.  What  is  the  doctrine  of  our  standards  on  the  subject? 

22.  State  the  proofs  of  the  truth  of  our  view  derived  from  the 
common  judgments  of  men  and  from  religious  experience. 

23.  State  the  proof  derived  from  a  consideration  of  the  essential 
nature  of  virti  e  and  the  moral  law. 

18 


274  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

24.  The  same  from  the  devotional  literature  and  admissions  of 
evangelical  Armenians. 

25.  The  same  from  the  declarations  of  Scripture  and  from  thi 
biographies  of  scriptural  characters. 

26.  In  what  sense  is  the  epithet  "perfect"  applied  to  men  in 
the  Scriptures? 

27.  To  what  is  Perfectionism  opposed? 

28.  What  is  the  certain  issue  of  this  warfare  between  the  "  law 
in  the  members"  and  the  ulaw  of  the  mind?" 

29.  What  is  the  ground  of  this  certainty  as  to  the  result? 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

OF   SAVING   FAITH. 

Section  I. — The  grace  of  faith,  whereby  the  elect  are  enabled 
to  believe  to  the  saving  of  their  souls,1  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  in  their  hearts,2  and  is  ordinarily  wrought  by  the 
ministry  of  the  word  ;8  by  which  also,  and  by  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  sacraments  and  prayer,  it  is  increased  and  strength- 
ened.4 

1  Heb.  x.  39.-2  2  Cor.  iv.  13  ;  Eph.  i.  17-19 ;  ii.  8.-3  Rom.  x.  14,  17.— 
*  1  Pet.  ii.  2;  Acts  xx.  32;  Rom.  iv.  11  j  Luke  xvii.  5 ;  Rom.  i.  16,  17. 

Faith,  in  the  most  general  sense  of  the  word,  is  the 
assent  of  the  mind  to  the  truth  of  that  of  which  we  have 
not  an  immediate  cognition;  knowledge  is  the  percep- 
tion of  the  truth  of  that  of  which  we  have  an  immediate, 
cognition.  Yet  faith  demands  and  rests  upon  evidence 
just  as  absolutely  as  does  knowledge.  It  does  not  differ 
from  reason  as  rational  differs  from  irrational,  nor  from 
knowledge  as  the  conviction  of  that  which  is  proved 
differs  from  the  presumption  of  that  which  is  unproved. 
Faith,  like  knowledge  itself, demands  evidence, and  differs  / 
in  accordance  with  the  evidence  in  different  cases  from 
the  barest  probability  up  to  the  most  assured  certainty. 
We  have  direct  knowledge  that  the  book  we  have  in  our 
hands  fills  a  certain  portion  of  space ;  we  have  fajth 
that  space  still  stretches  illimitable  beyond  the  most 
distant  telescopic  star.     The  one  is  knowledge  and  the 

275 


276  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

other  faith,  but  the  faith  is  jusi  as  certain  as  the  know- 
ledge. We  know  the  existence  and  attributes  of  the  city 
in  which  we  dwell;  we  believe  the  existence  and  attri- 
butes of  ancient  Athens  or  modern  Yeddo  from  the  testi- 
mony of  men.  We  know  the  properties  of  hunan 
nature;  we  believe  the  properties  of  the  several  persons 
of  the  Trinity  on  the  testimony  of  God.  In  each  case 
the  faith  is  just  as  rational  and  as  certain  as  the  know- 
ledge. Faith  in  many  thousands  of  its  forms  is  spon- 
taneously exercised  by  all  men.  The  commonest  pro- 
cesses of  thought  and  of  human  action,  individual  or 
associated,  would  be  impossible  without  it.  When 
grounded  on  legitimate  evidence,  it  leads  to  absolute 
assurance.  It  has  its  root  in  the  reason,  to  which  it 
always,  when  legitimate,  conforms.  But  it  reaches  be- 
yond reason,  and  elevates  the  mind  to  the  contemplation 
of  the  highest  and  most  ennobling  truths. 

Religious  faith,  in  the  most  general  sense  of  that 
word,  is  the  assent  of  the  mind  to  the  general  truths  of 
religion,  such  as  the  being  and  attributes  of  God,  and 
the  religious  obligations  of  men,  such  as  is  common  to 
all  religions,  true  or  false.  This  religious  faith  has  its 
ground  in  our  common  religious  nature,  while  on  the 
other  hand  that  saving  faith  which  is  the  subject  of 
this  Chapter  of  the  Confession  is  that  spiritual  discern- 
ment of  the  excellence  and  beauty  of  divine  truth,  and  that 
cordial  embrace  and  acceptance  of  it,  which  are  wrought  in 
our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Of  this  saving  faith  it  is  affirmed  in  this  Section — 

1st.  That  it  is  wrought  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

2d.  That  it  is  ordinarily  wrought   by  the   means  of 


SAVING   FAITH.  277 

the  word  of  God.  or   through  the   instrumentality  of 
divine  truth. 

3d.  That  it  is  strengthened  by  the  use  of  the  sacra- 
ments and  prayer. 

1st.  That  faith  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  has 
been  proved  already  under  the  head  of  Effectual  Calling. 
In  addition  it  may  be  argued — (1.)  Saving  faith  must 
be  a  moral  act,  and  must  have  its  ground  in  the  spirit- 
ua1  congeniality  of  the  believer  with  the  truth.  Unbe- 
lief is  always  denounced  as  a  sin,  and  not  as  the 
consequence  of  intellectual  weakness.  The  Scriptures 
unconditionally  demand  instant  faith  alike  of  the  igno- 
rant and  of  the  intelligent.  (2.)  By  nature,  men  are 
spiritually  blind,  incapable  of  discerning  spiritual  things. 
2  Cor.  iii.  14 ;  iv.  4.  That  form  of  spiritual  apprehen- 
sion which  is  an  essential  element  in  saving  faith  must 
be  wrought  in  the  soul  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  (3.)  Men 
believe  because  they  are  taught  of  God  (John  vi.  44, 
45),  as  they  are  enlightened  to  discern  the  things  of  the 
Spirit.  Acts  xiii.  48;  2  Cor.  iv.  6;  Eph.  i.  17,  18. 
Faith  is  the  gift  of  God.  Eph.  ii.  8. 

2d.  That  faith  is  ordinarily  wrought  by  the  Spirit 
through  the  ministry  of  the  Word  is  plain  (1)  from 
the  direct  assertion  of  Scripture :  "  How  shall  they  be- 
lieve in  Plim  of  whom  they  have  not  heard,  and  how 
shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher.  ...  So  then  faith 
cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God." 
Rom.  x.  12,  17.  (2.)  The  preaching  of  the  gospel  is 
the  ordinary  way  in  which  its  truth  is  most  effectually 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men. 
Faith  is  the  act  of  the  regenerated  soul,  and  as  we  have 
seen  (Chapter  x.,  §§1,2  and  4)  the  Spirit  uses  the   re- 


278  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

vealed  truth  of  God  as  his  instrument  in  regeneration 
and  sanctification,  and  sane  adult  men  never  come  tc 
the  experience  of  the  benefits  of  Christ's  salvation  who 
are  destitute  of  some  knowledge  of  his  person  and 
work. 

3d.  We  have  seen  above,  under  Chapter"  xiii.,  that 
sanctification  is  a  progressive  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  that  the  inward  means  whereby  it  is  advanced  is 
faith,  and  the  outward  means  are  the  truth,  prayer,  the 
sacraments  and  the  gracious  discipline  of  divine  provi- 
dence. Whatever  tends  to  promote  sanctification  must 
promote  the  strength  of  faith,  which  is  its  main  root. 
Therefore,  faith  must  be  nourished  by  the  truth,  prayer, 
the  sacraments  and  every  means  of  grace. 

Section  II. — By  this  faith,  a  Christian  believeth  to  be  true 
whatsoever  is  revealed  in  the  Word,  for  the  authority  of  God  him- 
self speaking  therein,5  and  acteth  differently  upon  that  which 
each  particular  passage  thereof  containeth ;  yielding  obedience 
to  the  commands,6  trembling  at  the  threatenings,7  and  embracing 
the  promises  of  God  for  this  life  and  for  that  which  is  to  come.8 
But  the  principal  acts  of  saving  faith  are,  accepting,  receiving  and 
resting  upon  Christ  alone  for  justification,  sanctification  and  eter- 
nal life,  by  virtue  of  the  covenant  of  grace.9 

5  John  iv.  42;  1  Thess.  ii.  13;  1  John  v.  10 ;  Acts  xxiv.  14.— 6  Rom.  xvj, 
26.-7  isa.  ixvi.  2.-8  Heb.  xi.  13;  1  Tim.  iv.  8.— 9  John  i.  12;  Acts  xvi. 
31;  Gal.  ii.  20;  Acts  xv.  11. 

This  Section  teaches — 

1st.  That  saving  faith  rests  upon  the  truth  of  the 
testimony  of  God  speaking  in  his  word. 

2ri.  That  it  respects  as  its  object  all  the  contents  of 
God's  word,  without  exception. 

3d.  That  the  complex  state  of  mind  to  which  the 
epithet   faith   is  applied   in   Scripture   varies   with   the 


SAVING    FAITH.  279 

nature  of  the  particular  passage  of  God's  word  which 
is  its  object. 

4th.  That  the  specific  act  of  saving  faitli  which  unites 
us  to  Christ,  and  is  the  sole  condition  or  instrument  of 
justification,  involves  two  essential  elements  :  (a.)  As- 
sent to  what  the  Scriptures  reveal  to  us  concerning  the 
person,  offices  and  work  of  Christ;  and  (6)  trust  or 
implicit  reliance  upon  Christ,  and  upon  Christ  alone, 
for  all  that  is  involved  in  a  complete  salvation. 

1st.  Saving  faith  rests  upon  the  truth  of  the  testi- 
mony of  God  speaking  in  his  word.  The  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  having  been  given  by 
inspiration,  are  in  the  strictest  and  most  direct  sense 
God's  wrord  to  us.  They  are  absolutely  divine,  both  as 
to  their  infallible  truth  and  supreme  authority.  Christ 
when  on  earth  rested  his  claims  to  recognition  as  Mes- 
siah upon  the  testimony  borne  to  him  by  the  Father. 
John  v.  31-37.  "  He  that  hath  received  the  testimony 
(of  Christ)  hath  set  to  his  seal  that  God  is  true."  John 
iii.  33.  "  He  that  believeth  not  God  hath  made  him  a 
liar,  because  he  believeth  not  the  record  that  God  gave 
of  his  Son."  1  John  v.  10.  "  This  is  the  witness  of  God 
which  he  has  testified  of  his  Son."  1  John  v.  9.  The 
gospel  which  Paul  preached  to  the  Corinthians  he  calls 
"the  testimony  of  God."  1  Cor.  ii.  1.  God  corroborated 
the  truths  of  the  apostle's  preaching,  "bearing  them  wit- 
ness both  with  signs  and  wonders,"  etc.  Heb.  ii.  4.  The 
Holy  Ghost  bears  direct  witness  to  the  soul  of  the  be- 
liever. Rom.  viii.  16  ;  Heb.  x.  15. 

2d.  Saving  faith  receives  as  true  all  the  contents  of 
God's  word,  without  exception.  After  we  have  settled 
the  preliminary  questions  as  to  what  books  belong  to  the 


ZfiO  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

inspired  canon  of  Scripture,  and  as  to  what  is  the  orig- 
inal text  of  those  books,  then  the  whole  must  be  received 
as  equally  the  word  of  God,  and  must  in  all  its  parts  be 
accepted  with  equal  faith.  The  same  illumination  of 
the  understanding  and  renewal  of  the  affections  which 
lays  the  foundation  for  the  soul's  acting  faith  in  any  one 
portion  of  God's  testimony,  lays  the  same  foundation 
for  its  acting  faith  in  every  other  portion.  The  whole 
word  of  God,  therefore,  as  far  as  known  to  be  individ- 
ual, to  the  exclusion  of  all  traditions,  doctrines  of  men 
or  pretended  private  revelations,  is  the  object  of  saving 
faith. 

3d.  The  complex  state  of  mind  to  which  the  epithet 
faith  is  applied  in  Scripture  varies  with  the  nature  of 
every  particular  passage  of  God's  word  which  i$  its 
object.  The  common  quality  which  is  the  reason  of  the 
application  of  the  same  term  to  all  these  various  states 
of  mind  is  cordial,  realizing  assent  to  the  truth  pre- 
sented. But  the  state  of  mind  which  fully  realizes  the 
truth  of  a  threatening  must,  in  some  respects,  be  differ- 
ent from  that  which  realizes  the  truth  of  a  promise. 
The  realization  of  the  truth  of  God's  glory  as  it  shines 
in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  cannot  be  an  experience  in 
all  respects  the  same  with  the  believing  recognition  of  a 
duty  or  of  the  truth  of  a  fact  of  history. 

It  was  debated  largely  between  the  Romanists  and  the\ 
Reformers  whether  saving  faith  included  trust  or  not. 
The  true  answer  is,  that  trust  is  an  integral  and  insep- 
arable element  of  every  act  of  saving  faith  in  which 
crust  is  appropriate  to  the  nature  of  the  object  believed, 
ft  is  plain  that  many  of  the  propositions  of  Scripture 
are  not  the  proper  objects  of  trust.     In  all  such  cases 


SAVING    FAITH.  281 

faith  includes  recognition,  assent,  acquiescence,  submis* 
oion,  as  the  case  may  be.  But  in  all  cases  in  which  the  v 
nature  of  the  truth  believed  renders  the  exercise  of  trust 
legitimate,  and  especially  in  that  specific  act  of  saving 
faith  called  justifying  faith,  which  unites  to  Christ  and 
is  the  root  and  organ  of  the  whole  spiritual  life,  trust  is 
certainly  an  element  of  the  very  essence  of  that  state  of 
mind  called  in  Scripture  faith.  This  will  be  proved 
under  the  next  head. 

4th.  That  specific  act  of  saving  faith  which  unites  to 
Christ,  and  is  the  sole  condition  and  instrument  of  jus- 
tification, involves  two  essential  elements. 

(1.)  Assent  to  whatever  the  Scriptures  reveal  to  us 
as  to  the  person,  offices  and  work  of  Christ,  (a.)  The  I 
Scriptures  expressly  say  that  wre  are  justified  by  that 
faith  of  which  Christ  is  the  object.  Rom.  iii.  22,25; 
Gal.  ii.  16  ;  Phil.  iii.  9.  (6.)  Rejection  of  Christ  in 
Scripture  is  declared  to  be  the  ground  of  reprobation. 
John  iii.  18,  19;  viii.  24.  Assent  includes  an  intellec- 
tual recognition  and  a  cordial  embrace  of  the  object  at 
the  same  time.  .It  is  an  act  of  the  whole  man — intel- 
lect, affection  and  will — embracing  the  truth.  This 
especial  act  of  faith  in  Christ,  which  secures  salvation, 
is  constantly  paraphrased  by  such  phrases  as  u  coming 
to  Christ/'  John  vi.  35  ;  "looking  to  him,"  Isa.  xlv.  22; 
<k  receiving  him,"  John  i.  12  ;  "  flving  to  him  for  refuge," 
Hcb.  vi.  18 ;  all  of  which  manifestly  involve  an  active 
assent  to  and  cordial  embrace,  as  well  as  an  intellectual 
recognition  of  the  truth. 

(2.)  The  second  element  included  in  that  act  of  faith 
that  saves  the  soul  is  trust,  or  implicit  reliance  upon 
Christ,  and  upon  Christ  alone,  for  all  that   is   involved 


282  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

in  a  complete  salvation,  (a.)  The  single  condition  of 
salvation  demanded  in  the  Scriptures  is  that  we  should 
"believe  in"  or  "on"  Christ  Jesus.  And  salvation  is 
promised  absolutely  and  certainly  if  this  command  is 
obeyed.  John  vii.  38 ;  Acts  ix.  42 ;  xvi.  31 ;  Gal.  ii.  16. 
To  believe  in  or  on  a  person  implies  trust  -as  well  as 
credence.  (6.)  We  are  constantly  said  to  be  saved  "by 
faith  in"  or  "on  Christ."  Acts  xxvi.  18;  Gal.  iii.  26; 
2  Tim.  iii.  15;  Heb.  xi.  1.  "Faith  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for."  Trust  rests  upon  the  foundation 
upon  which  expectation  is  based.  Hope  reaches  for- 
ward to  the  object  upon  which  desire  and  expectation 
meet.  Hope,  therefore,  rests  upon  trust,  and  trust 
gives  birth  to  hope,  and  faith  must  include  trust  in 
order  to  give  reality  or  substance  to  the  things  hoped 
for.  (c.)  The  same  is  proved  by  what  are  said  to  be  the 
effects  or  fruits  of  faith.  By  faith  the  Christian  is  said 
to  be  "  persuaded  of  the  promises  ;"  "  to  obtain  them  ;" 
"to  embrace  them;"  "to  subdue  kingdoms;"  "to  work 
righteousness ;"  "  to  stop  the  mouths  of  lions."  Heb. 
xi.  All  this  plainly  presupposes  that  faith  is  not  a  bare 
intellectual  conviction  of  the  truth  of  truths  revealed  in 
the  Scriptures,  but  that  it  includes  a  hearty  embrace  of 
and  a  confident  reliance  upon  Christ,  his  meritorious 
work  and  his  gracious  promises. 

Section  III. — This  faith  is  different  in  degrees,  weak  or 
strong;10  may  be  often  and  many  ways  assailed  and  weakened, 
bui  gets  the  victory  :u  growing  up  in  many  to  the  attainment  of 
a  full  assurance  through  Christ,12  who  is  both  the  author  and 
finisher  of  our  faith.13 

10  Heb.  v.  13,  14;  Rom.  iv.  19,  20;  Matt.  vi.  30;  viii.  10.— »  Luke  xxii 
11,  32;  Eph.  vi.  16;  1  John  v.  4,  5.— 12  Hob.  vi.  Ii,  12;  x.  22;  Col.  ii.  2.- 
"  Heb.  xii.  2. 


SAVING    FAITH.  283 

111  this  Section  it  is  affirmed — 

1st.  That  this  faith,  although  always  as  to  essence  the 
same,  is  often  different  in  degrees  in  different  persons, 
and  in  the  same  person  at  different  times. 

2d.  That  it  is  exposed  to  many  enemies,  and  may  be 
often  and  in  many  ways  assailed  and  weakened,  but 
that,  through  divine  grace,  it  always  in  the  end  gains 
the  victory. 

3d.  That  in  many  it  grows  up  to  the  measure  of  a 
full  assurance  through  Christ. 

As  all  the  points  made  in  this  Section  are  taken  up 
again  and  discussed  at  length  in  Chapter  xviii.,  on 
"Assurance  of  Grace  and  Salvation,"  we  will  defer 
what  we  have  to  say  upon  the  subject  until  we  come  to 
that  place. 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  most  general  sense  of  the  word  "  faith?" 

2.  What  is  knowledge,  and  how  does  it  differ  from  faith  ? 

3.  Prove  that  faith  is  not  irrational,  and  that  it  rests  upop 
appropriate  evidence. 

4.  Show  that  faith  is  exercised  by  all  men,  and  that  its  exercise 
is  necessary  to  human  thought  and  to  social  life. 

5.  What  is  religious  faith  ? 

6.  What  is  "saving  faith."  and  how  does  it  differ  from  the 
former  ? 

7.  State  the  first  truth  assorted  of  saving  faith  in  this  Section 

8.  State  the  second  truth  asserted. 

9.  State  the  third. 

10.  Prove  that  saving  faith  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

11.  Prove  that  it  is  ordinarily  wrought  by  the  Spirit  through 
the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

12.  Prove  that  it  continues  to  increase  and  is  strengthened  by 
the  use  of  the  sacraments  and  prayer. 


284  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

13.  What  is  the  first  truth  taught  of  saving  faith  in  the  third 
Section  ? 

14.  What  is  the  second  truth  taught? 

15.  What  is  the  third? 

16.  What  is  the  fourth? 

17.  Prove  that  saving  faith  rests  upon  the  truth  of  the  testi- 
mony which  God  bears  in  his  word. 

18.  Prove  that  saving  faith  receives  all  the  contents  of  God's 
word,  without  exception. 

19.  Prove  that  the  complex  state  of  mind  to  which  the  term 
"faith"  is  applied  in  the  Scriptures  varies  in  some  of  its  elements 
with  the  nature  of  the  particular  passage  of  God's  word  which 
is  its  object. 

20.  Is  truth  an  integral  element  of  saving  faith? 

21.  What  is  the  object  of  that  special  act  of  saving  faith  which 
is  the  sole  instrument  of  justification  and  hence  the  sole  condition 
of  salvation? 

22.  What  is  the  first  element  that  special  faith  always  in- 
cludes? 

23.  What  is  the  second  element  it  always  contains? 

24.  Prove  that  it  essentially  involves  assent. 

25.  Prove  that  it  essentially  involves  trust. 

26.  What  relation  do  faith,  hope  and  trust  mutually  sustain  to 
one  another  ? 

27.  What  is  the  first  truth  taught  of  saving  faith  in  the  third 
Section  ? 

28.  What  is  the  second  taught? 

29.  What  is  the  thud  taught? 


CHAPTER    XV. 

OF   REPENTANCE   UNTO    LIFE. 

Section  I. — Repentance  unto  life  is  an  evangelical  grace,1  the 
doctrine  whereof  is  to  be  preached  by  every  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel, as  well  as  that  of  faith  in  Christ.2 

Section  II. — By  it  a  sinner,  out  of  the  sight  and  sense,  not 
only  of  the  danger,  but  also  of  the  filthiness  and  odiousness  of 
his  sins,  as  contrary  to  the  holy  nature  and  righteous  law  of  God, 
and  upon  the  apprehension  of  his  mercy  in  Christ  to  such  as  are 
penitent,  so  grieves  for  and  hates  his  sins,  as  to  turn  from  them 
all  unto  God,3  purposing  and  endeavoring  to  walk  with  him  in  all 
the  ways  of  his  commandments.* 

1  Zcch.  xii.  10 j  Acts  xi.  18.— 2  Luke  xxiv.  47;  Mark  i.  15;  Acts  xx.  21. 
— *  Ezek.  xviii.  30,  31;  xxxvi.  31;  Isa,  xxx.  22;  Ps.  li.  4;  Jer.  xxxi.  18, 
19;  Joel  ii.  12,  13;  Amos  v.  15;  Ps.  cxix.  128;  2  Cor.  vii.  11.—*  Ps.  cxix. 
6,  59,  106;  Luke  i.  6;  2  Kings  xxiii.  25. 

These  Sections  teach  the  following  truths : 
1st.  That  as  to  the  grounds  of  it,  true  evangelical 
repentance  rests  upon  (a)  a  true  sense  of  the  guilt,  pollu- 
tion and  power  of  his  own  sinfulness,  and  of  his  own 
sinful  deeds ;  and  (6)  a  true  apprehension  of  the  mercy 
of  God  in  Christ. 

2d.  That  as  to  the  essence  of  it  repentance  consists  (a) 
in  true  hatred  of  sin  and  sorrow  for  his  own  sin  ;  (b)  in 
an  actual  turning  from  them  all  unto  God ;  (c)  in  a  sin- 
cere purpose  and  practical  endeavour  to  walk  with  God 
in  the  way  of  his  commandments. 

235 


286  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

3d.  That  as  thus  defined  this  true  repentance  is  an 
evangelical  grace,  like  faith  freely  given  to  lis  by  God 
for  Christ's  sake,  as  well  as  a  duty  obligatory  upon 
us. 

4th.  It  should  therefore  be  diligently  proclaimed 
from  the  pulpit  by  every  minister  of  the  gospel. 

1st.  The  grounds  of  repentance  are  (1)  a  true  sense 
of  sin.  That  spiritual  illumination  and  renewal  of  the 
affections  which  *are  effected  in  regeneration  brings  the 
believer  to  see  and  appreciate  the  holiness  of  God  as 
revealed  alike  in  the  law  and  in  the  gospel  (Rom.  iii. 
20;  Job  xlii.  5,  6);  and  in  that  light  to  see  and  feel  the 
exceeding  sinfulness  of  all  sin,  and  the  utter  sinfulness 
of  his  own  nature  and  conduct.  This  sense  of  sin  cor- 
responds precisely  to  the  actual  facts  of  the  case,  and 
the  man  apprehends  himself  to  be  just  as  God  has 
always  seen  him  to  be.  It  includes  (a)  consciousness  of 
guilt — i.  e.,  exposure  to  merited  punishment,  as  opposed 
to  the  justice  of  God.  Ps.  li.  4,  9.  (6.)  Consciousness 
of  pollution,  as  opposed  to  the  holiness  of  God.  Ps.  li. 
5,  7,  10.  And  (c)  consciousness  of  helplessness.  Ps.  li. 
11;  cix.  21,22. 

The  grounds  of  repentance  are  (2)  a  bright  apprehen- 
sion of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ.  This  is  necessary 
in  order  to  true  repentance :  (a.)  Because  the  awakened  . 
conscience  echoes  God's  law,  and  can  be  appeased  by  no 
less  a  propitiation  than  that  demanded  by  divine  jus- 
tice itself;  and  until  this  is  realized  in  a  believing  appli- 
cation to  the  merits  of  Christ,  either  indifference  will 
stupefy  or  remorse  will  torment  the  soul.  (6.)  Because 
out  of  Christ,  God  is  a  consuming  fire,  and  an  inextin-  ' 
guishable  dread  of  his  wrath  repels  the  soul.  Deut.  iv 


REPENTANCE    UNTO   LIFE.  287 

24 ;  Heb.  xii.  29.  (c.)  A  sense  of  the  amazing  good- 
ness of  God  to  us  in  the  gift  of  his  Son,  and  of  our 
ungrateful  requital  of  it,  is  the  most  powerful  means  of 
bringing  the  soul  to  genuine  repentance  for  sin  as  com- 
mitted against  God.  Ps.  li.  4.  (<:?.)  This  is  proved  by 
the  examples  of  repentance  recorded  in  Scripture.  Ps. 
li.  1;  cxxx.  4,  and  by  the  universal  experience  of  Chris- 
tians in  modern  times. 

2d.  As  to  its  essence  true  repentance  consists  (1)  in  a 
sincere  hatred  of  sin  (Ps.  cxix.  128,  136),  and  sorrow 
for  our  own  sin.  Sin  is  seen  to  be  exceeding  sinful  in 
the  light  of  the  divine  holiness,  the  law  of  God,  and 
especially  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  The  more  we  see  of 
God  in  the  face  of  Christ,  the  more  we  abhor  ourselves 
and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.  Job  xlii.  5;  Ezek.  xxxvi. 
31.  Godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance  to  salvation  not 
to  be  repented  of.  2  Cor.  vii.  10.  "  By  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin"  (Rom.  iii.  20),  and  hence  "  the  law 
is  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto  Christ."  Gal. 
iii.  24. 

The  essence  of  repentance  consists  (2)  in  our  actual 
turning  from  all  sin  unto  God.  This  is  that  practical 
turning  or  "  conversion"  from  sin  unto  God  which  is 
the  instant  and  necessary  consequence  of  regeneration. 
It  is  a  voluntary  forsaking  of  sin  as  evil  and  hateful, 
with  sincere  sorrow,  humiliation  and  confession,  and  a 
turning  unto  God  as  our  reconciled  Father  in  the  exer- 
cise of  implicit  faith  in  the  merits  and  assisting  grace 
of  Christ.  This  is  marked  by  the  meaning  of  the 
Greek  word  used  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  express  the  idea 
of  repentance,  namely,  "a  change  of  mind,"  including' 
evidently  a  change   of  thought,   feeling  and   purpose, 


288  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

corresponding  to  our  new  character  as  the  children  of 
God.  If  this  be  sincere,  it  will  of  course  lead  to  the 
(3)  element  of  practical  repentance,  namely,  a  sincere 
purpose  of,  and  a  persevering  endeavour  after,  new  obedi- 
ence. Acts  xx vi.  20. 

By  these  marks  it  may  be  seen  that  repentance  unto 
life  can  only  be  exercised  by  a  soul  after  and  in  conse- 
quence of  its  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  God 
regenerates,  and  we,  in  the  exercise  of  the  new  gracious 
ability  thus  given,  repent.  Repentance  and  conversion, 
therefore,  are  terms  applying  often  to  the  same  gracious 
experience.  The  scriptural  usage  of  the  two  words 
differs  in  two  respects :  (1.)  Conversion  is  the  more 
general  term,  including  all  the  various  experiences  in- 
volved in  our  commencing  the  divine  life.  It  especially 
emphasizes  that  experience  as  a  turning  unto  God.  Re- 
pentance is  more  specific,  giving  prominence  to  the  work 
of  t'he  law  upon  the  conscience,  and  especially  empha- 
sizing the  experiences  attending  the  new  birth  as  a 
turning  from  sin.  (2.)  Conversion  is  generally  used  to 
designate  only  the  first  actings  of  the  new  nature  at  the 
commencement  of  a  religious  life,  or  the  first  steps  of  a 
return  to  God  after  a  notable  backsliding  (Luke  xxii. 
32);  while  repentance  is  a  daily  experience  of  the 
Christian  as  Ions;  as  the  struggle  with  sin  continues  in 
his  heart  and  life.  Ps.  xix.  12,  13;  Luke  ix.  32;  Gal. 
vi.  14;  v.  24. 

There  is  a  false  repentance  experienced  before  regen- 
eration, and  by  those  never  regenerated,  which  arises 
simply  from  the  common  operations  of  the  truth  and 
Spirit  upon  the  natural  conscience,  exciting  simply  a 
sense   of  guilt  and   pollution,   leading    neither    to    the 


REPENTANCE    UNTO   LIFE.  289 

hatred  of  sin,  nor  to  the  apprehension  of  the  mercy 
of  God  in  Christ,  nor  to  the  practical  turning  from  sin 
unto  God.  The  genuineness  of  true  repentance  is 
proved  (a)  by  its  being  conformed  perfectly  to  the  re- 
quirements and  teachings  of  Scripture,  and  (b)  by  its 
fruits.  If  genuine,  it  infallibly  springs  from  regenera- 
tion and  leads  to  eternal  life. 

3d.  As  thus  defined,  repentance  is,  like  faith,  an 
evangelical  grace,  given  to  us  for  Christ's  sake,  as  well 
as  a  duty  obligatory  upon  us.  What  is  here  said  of  re- 
pentance is  equally  true  of  every  characteristic  expe- 
rience of  the  subject  of  regeneration  and  sanctification. 
Christ  is  the  Vine ;  we  are  the  branches.  But  we  are 
also  free,  accountable  agents.  Every  Christian  du'y  is, 
therefore,  a  grace,  "  for  without  him  we  can  do  nothing." 
And  equally  every  Christian  grace  is  a  duty ;  because 
the  grace  is  given  to  us  to  exercise,  and  it  finds  its  true 
result  and  expression  only  in  the  duty. 

That  it  is  thus  a  gift  of  God  is  evident — (1.)  From 
its  nature.  It  involves  true  conviction  of  sin ;  a  holy 
hatred  of  sin ;  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  and  his  work, 
which  faith  is  God's  gift.  Gal.  v.  22;  Eph.  ii.  8.  (2.) 
It  is  directly  affirmed  in  Scripture.  Zech.  xii.  10;  Acts 
v.  31 ;  xL  18 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  25. 

4th.  That  it  should  be  diligently  preached  by  every 
minister  of  the  gospel  is  (1)  self-evident  from  the  es- 
sential nature  of  the  duty.  (2.)  Because  such  preaching 
was  included  in  the  commission  Christ  gave  to  the  apos- 
tles. Luke  xxiv.  47,  48,  (3.)  Because  of  the  example 
of  the  apostles.  Acts  xx.  21. 

Section  III. — Although  repentance  be  not  to  be  rested  in,  a* 
any  satisfaction  for  sin  or  any  cause  of  the  pardon  thereof,5  which 
19 


290  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

is  the  act  of  God's  free  grace  in  Christ,6  yet  is  it  of  such  necessity 
to  all  sinners  that  none  may  expect  pardon  without  it.7 

Section  IV. — As  there  is  no  sin  so  small  but  it  deserves  dam- 
nation,8 so  there  is  no  sin  so  great  that  it  can  bring  damnation 
upon  those  who  truly  repent.9 

Section  V. — Men  ought  not  to  content  themselves  with  a  gen- 
eral repentance,  but  it  is  every  man's  duty  to  endeavour  to  repent 
of  his  particular  sins  particularly.10 

6  Ezek.  xxxvi.  31,  32;  xvi.  61-63.— 6  Hos.  xiv.  2,  4;  Rom.  iii.  24;  Eph. 
i.  7.— 7  Luke  xiii.  3,  5 ;  Acts  xvii.  30,  31.— 8  Roru.  vi.  23 ;  v.  12  ;  Matt.  xii. 
,36.— »  Isa.  lv.  7;  Rom.  viii.  1;  Isa.  i.  16, 18.— 10  Ps.  xix.  13;  Luke  xix.  8  j 
1  Tim.  i.  13,  15. 

These  Sections  teach  the  following  propositions : 

1st.  That  repentance  is  not  to  be  rested  in,  as  any 
satisfaction  for  sin  or  any  cause  of  the  pardon  thereof. 

2d.  That,  nevertheless,  it  is  of  such  necessity  that  it  is 
inseparable  from  pardon,  so  that  none  who  are  non- 
repentant  are  pardoned. 

3d.  That  while  the  least  sin  deserves  condemnation, 
the  same  grace  of  Christ  which  bringeth  repentance 
avails  to  extinguish  the  guilt  of  the  greatest  sin. 

4th.  That,  as  men  ought  to  repent  of  their  sinful  dis- 
position by  nature  and  the  general  sinfulness  of  their 
lives,  so  they  ought  also  to  repent  of  every  particular  sin 
known  to  them. 

1st.  Repentance  is  not  to  be  rested  in  as  any  satisfac- 
tion for  sin  or  any  cause  of  the  pardon  thereof.  This 
directly  contradicts  the  opinion  of  Socinians,  the  advo- 
cates of  the  moral-influence  theory  of  the  atonement,  and 
Rationalists  generally,  to  the  effect  that  the  repentance 
of  the  sinner  is  the  only  satisfaction  the  law  requires, 
and  hence  the  only  condition  God  demands,  as  prere 
quisite  to  full  pardon  and  restoration  to  divine  favour. 


REPENTANCE   UNTO   LIFE.  291 

It  also  contradicts  the  Romish  doctrine  of  penance. 
They  distinguish  penance — (1.)  As  a  virtu?  which  is 
internal,  including  sorrow  for  sin  and  a  timing  from 
sin  unto  God.  (2.)  As  a  sacrament,  which  is  the  exter- 
nal expression  of  the  internal  state.  This  sacrament 
consists  (a)  of  contrition — i.  e.,  sorrow  and  detestation  of 
past  sins,  with  a  purpose  of  sinning  no  more;  (b)  con- 
fession or  self-accusation  to  a  priest  having  jurisdiction 
and  the  power  of  the  keys ;  (c)  satisfaction  or  some  pain- 
ful work,  imposed  by  the  priest  and  performed  by  the 
penitent,  to  satisfy  divine  justice  for  sins  committed; 
and  (d)  absolution,  pronounced  by  the  priest  judicially 
and  not  merely  declaratively.  They  hold  that  the  ele- 
ment of  satisfaction  included  in  this  sacrament  makes  a 
real  satisfaction  for  sin,  and  is  an  efficient  cause  of  par- 
don, absolutely  essential — the  only  means  whereby  the 
pardon  of  sins  committed  after  baptism  can  be  secured.* 

That  repentance  is  no  cause  whatever  of  the  pardon 
of  sin  is  proved  by  all  that  the  Scriptures  teach  us  (a) 
as  to  the  justice  of  God,  which  inexorably  demands  the 
punishment  of  every  sin ;  (b)  as  to  the  necessity  for  the 
satisfaction  rendered  to  the  law  and  justice  of  God  by 
the  obedience  and  suffering  of  Christ ;  (c)  as  to  the  fact 
that  he  has  rendered  a  full  satisfaction  in  behalf  of  all 
for  whom  he  died;  (d)  as  to  the  impossibility  of  any 
man's  securing  justification  by  works  of  any  kind;  and 
(e)  as  to  the  fact  that  the  believer  is  justified  solely  on 
the  ground  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ  imputed  to 
him  and  received  by  faith  alone.  All  these  points  have 
already  been  discussed  under  their  appropriate  heads ; 
and  they  are  more  than  sufficient  to  prove  (1)  that  par- 
*  Cat.  Rom.,  Part,  ii.,  chap,  v.,  Qp.  12  and  13. 


292  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

don  is  secured  entirely  on  a  different  basis ;  (2)  that  the 
external  penance  of  the  Romanist  is  an  impertinent 
attempt  to  supplement  the  perfect  satisfaction  of  Christ; 
and  (3)  that  internal  repentance,  when  genuine,  is  itself 
a  gracious  gift  of  God,  without  merit  in  itself,  and  of 
value  only  because  it  springs  from  the  application  of 
Christ's  grace  to  the  soul  and  leads  to  the  application 
by  the  soul  to  Christ's  grace. 

2d.  Nevertheless,  repentance  is  of  such  necessity  to  all  f 
sinners  that  none  may  expect  pardon  without  it.  This 
is  evident — (1)  Because  the  giving  of  pardon  to  a  non- 
repentant  sinner  would  be  in  effect  to  sanction  his  sin, 
to  confirm  him  in  his  sinful  state,  and  to  encourage 
others  therein.  Although  Scripture  and  the  moral 
sense  of  men  teach  that  repentance  is  no  adequate  satis- 
faction for  sin  nor  an  equivalent  for  the  penalty,  they 
just  as  clearly  teach  that  it  would  be  inconsistent  in 
every  sense  with  good  morals  to  pardon  a  person  cher- 
ishing an  unrepentant  spirit.  (2.)  Repentance  is  the  * 
natural  and  instant  sequence  of  the  grace  of  regenera- 
tion. It  also  embraces  an  element  of  faith  in  Christ, 
and  that  faith  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the  instrument  of 
justification.  He  that  repents  believes.  He  that  does 
not  repent  does  not  believe.  He  that  does  not  believe! 
is  not  justified.  Regeneration  and  justification  are  never 
separated.  (3.)  The  design  of  Christ's  work  is  to  save 
his  people  from  their  sins.  He  frees  them  from  the 
guilt  of  their  sins  by  pardon,  and  he  brings  them  clear 
from  the  power  of  their  sins  through  repentance.  "  Him 
hath  God  exalted,  ....  to  give  repentance  to  Israel  and 
forgiveness  of  sins."  Acts  v.  31.  (4.)  Repentance,  like 
faith,  is  a  duty  as  well  as  a  grace,  and  ministers  are  com- 


REPENTANCE    UNTO   LIFE.  293 

maided  to  preach  it  as  essential  to  forgiveness.  Luko 
xxiv.  47;  Acts  xx.  21. 

3d.  That  the  least  sin  deserves  punishment  is  obvi- 
ous. The  moral  law  is  moral  in  every  element,  and  it 
is  of  the  essence  of  that  which  is  moral  that  it  is  obliga- 
tory, and  that  its  violation  is  deserving  of  reprobation. 
Hence  "  whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet 
offend  in  one  point,  is  guilty  of  all."  James  ii.  10.  That 
there  is  no  sin  so  great  that  it  can  bring  condemnation 
upon  those  that  truly  repent  is  also  evident,  because 
true  repentance,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  fruit  of  regene- 
ration, and  no  man  is  regenerated  who  is  not  also  justi- 
fied. Besides,  true  repentance  includes  faith,  and  faith 
unites  to  Christ  and  secures  the  imputation  of  his  right- 
eousness, and  the  righteousness  of  Christ  of  course  can- 
cels all  possible  sin.  Rom.  viii.  1 ;  v.  20. 

4th.  That  men  ought  to  repent  not  only  in  general 
of  the  corruption  of  their  hearts  and  sinfulness  of  their 
lives,  but  also  of  every  particular  sinful  action  of  which 
they  are  conscious  and  that  when  possible  they  should 
redress  the  wrong  done  by  their  actions,  is  a  dictate  alike 
of  natural  conscience  and  Scripture.  Luke  xix.  8 ;  1  John 
i.  9.  No  man  has  any  right  to  presume  that  he  hates 
sin  in  general  unless  he  practically  hates  every  sin  in 
particular ;  and  no  man  has  any  right  to  presume  that 
he  is  sorry  for  and  ready  to  renounce  his  own  sins  in 
general  unless  he  is  conscious  of  practically  renouncing 
and  grieving  for  each  particular  sin  into  which  he  falls. 

Section  VI. — As  every  man  is  bound  to  make  private  confes- 
sion of  his  sins  to  Grod,  praying  for  the  pardon  thereof;11  upon 
which,  and  the  forsaking  of  them,  he  shall  find  mercy  ;12  so  he 
that  scandalizeth  his  brother,  or  the  Church  of  Christ,  ought  to 


294  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

be  willing,  by  a  private  or  public  confession  and  sorrow  for  his 
sin,  to  declare  his  repentance  to  those  that  are  offended  ;13  who 
are  thereupon  to  be  reconciled  to  him,  and  in  love  to  receive 
him.1* 

11  Ps.  li.  4,  5,  7,  9,  14;  xxxii.  5,  6.— 12  Prov.  xxviii.  13;  1  John  i.  9.— 
13  James  v.  16 ;  Luke  xvii.  3,  4  j  Josh.  vii.  19  j  Ps.  li.— "  2  Cor.  ii.  8. 

This  Section  teaches — 

1st.  That  every  man  should  make  private  confession 
of  all  his  sins  to  God,  and  that  God  will  certainly  par- 
don him  when  his  sorrow  and  his  renunciation  of  his 
sins  are  sincere.  This  is  all  included  in  what  has 
already  been  said  as  to  the  nature  and  effects  of  genuine 
repentance;  and  it  is  expressly  declared  in  Scripture: 
"  If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  (God)  is  faithful  and  just  to 
forgive  us  our  sins  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unright- 
eousness." 1  John  i.  9. 

2d.  That  when  a  Christian  has  personally  injured  a 
brother,  or  scandalized  by  his  unchristian  conduct  the 
Church  of  Christ,  he  ought  to  be  willing,  by  a  public  or 
a  private  confession,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  declare  his 
repentance  to  those  that  are  offended,  is  also  a  dictate 
alike  of  natural  reason  and  Scripture.  If  we  have  done 
wrong,  we  stand  in  the  position  of  one  maintaining  a 
wrong  until,  by  an  expressed  repentance  and,  where  pos- 
sible, redress  of  the  wrong,  we  place  ourselves  on  the 
side  of  the  right.  The  wrong-doer  is  plainly  in  debt  to 
the  man  he  has  injured  to  make  every  possible  restitu- 
tion to  his  feelings  and  interests,  and  the  same  principle 
holds  true  in  relation  to  the  general  interests  of  the 
Christian  community.  The  duty  is  expressly  com- 
manded in  Scripture.  Matt,  v,  23,  24;  James  v.  16; 
Matt,  xviii.  15-18. 


REPENTANCE   UNTO   LIFE.  295 

3d.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  brethren  or  of  the 
Church,  when  offended,  to  forgive  the  offending  party 
and  restore  him  fully  to  favour  upon  his  repentance,  is 
also  a  dictate  of  natural  conscience  and  of  Scripture. 
All  honourable  men  feel  themselves  bound  to  act  upon 
this  principle.  The  Christian  is,  in  addition,  brought 
under  obligations  to  forgive  others  by  his  own  infinite 
obligations  to  his  Lord,  who  not  only  forgave  us  upon 
repentance,  but  died  to  redeem  us  while  we  were  unre- 
pentant. As  to  public  scandals,  the  Church  is  bound  to 
forgive  them  when  the  Lord  has  done  so.  As  genuine 
repentance  is  the  gift  of  Christ,  its  evident  exercise  is  a 
certain  indication  that  the  person  exercising  it  is  for- 
given by  Christ  and  a  Christian  brother.  Luke  xvii.  3, 
4;  2  Cor.  ii.  7,  8;  Matt.  vi.  7. 

The  Romish  Church  teaches  that,  as  an  element  of 
penance  and  evidence  of  true  repentance,  the  Christian 
must  confess  all  his  sins  without  reserve,  in  all  their 
details  and  qualifying  circumstances,  to  a  priest  having 
jurisdiction  ;  and  that  if  any  mortal  sin  is  unconfessed 
it  is  not  forgiven ;  and  if  the  omission  is  wilful,  it  is 
sacrilege,  and  greater  guilt  is  incurred.*  And  they 
maintain  that  the  priest  absolves  judicially,  not  merely 
declaratively,  from  all  the  penal  consequences  of  the 
sins  confessed,  by  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ. 

This  is  an  obvious  perversion  of  the  scriptural  com- 
mand to  confess.  They  bid  us  simply  to  confess  our 
faults  one  to  another.  There  is  not  a  word  said  about 
confession  to  a  priest  in  the  Bible.  The  believer,  on  the 
contrary,  has  immediate  access  to  Christ,  and  to  God 
through  Christ  (1  Tim.  ii.  5 j  John  xiv.  6;  v.  40;  Matt. 
*  Cat.  B  mil,  Part  ii.,  ch.  v.,  Qs.  33,  34,  42. 


296  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

xi.  28),  and  is  commanded  to  confess  his  sins  imme- 
diately to  God.  1  John  i.  9.  No  priestly  function  is 
ever  ascribed  to  the  Christian  ministry  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  power  of  absolute  forgiveness  of  sin 
belongs  to  God  alone  (Matt.  ix.  2-6),  is  incommunicable 
in  its  very  nature,  and  has  never  been  granted  to  any 
class  of  men  as  a  matter  of  fact.  The  authority  to  bind 
or  loose  which  Christ  committed  to  his  Church  was 
understood  by  the  apostles,  as  is  evident  from  their 
practice,  as  simply  conveying  the  power  of  declaring 
the  conditions  on  which  God  pardons  sin,  and,  in  ac- 
cordance with  that  declaration,  of  admitting  or  of  ex- 
cluding men  from  sealing  ordinances. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  truth  taught  in  the  first  and  second  Sec- 
tions? 

2.  What  is  the  second  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  third  f 

4.  What  is  the  fourth? 

5.  What  does  a  true  sense  of  sin  include  ? 

6.  Show  how  it  leads  to  repentance. 

7.  Show  that  an  apprehension  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ 
is  necessary  to  lead  to  true  repentance. 

8.  What  three  elements  enter  into  genuine  repentance  ? 

9.  Show  that  it  includes  a  true  hatred  of  sin  and  sorrow  for 
>ur  own  sin. 

10.  Show  that  it  includes  an  actual  turning  from  all  sin  unto 
God. 

11.  Show  that  it  includes  a  sincere  purpose  of,  and  a  persever- 
ing endeavour  after,  new  obedience. 

12.  What  distinction  is  maintained  in  the  usage  of  the  worda 
"conversion"  and  "repentance"  in  Scripture? 


REPENTANCE    UNTO   LIFE.  297 

13.  What  is  a  false  repentance,  and  how  may  a  genuine  repent- 
ance be  discriminated  from  it  ? 

14.  What  is  meant  when  it  is  affirmed  that  every  Christian 
duty  is  a  Christian  grace  ? 

15.  Prove  that  repentance  is  an  evangelical  grace. 

16.  Why  should  it  be  diligently  preached? 

17.  What  two  propositions  are  taught  in  Section  iii.  ? 

18.  What  is  taught  in  Section  iv.  ? 

19.  What  in  Section  v.  ? 

20.  What  is  the  Socinian  or  Rationalistic  doctrine  as  to  the 
relation  of  repentance  to  pardon  ? 

21.  What  is  the  Romish  doctrine  of  penance? 

22.  Of  what  three  elements  do  they  teach  that  external  pen- 
ance consists? 

23.  Prove  that  repentance  is  no  cause  whatever  of  the  pardon 
of  sin. 

24.  Prove  that  none  are  ever  pardoned  without  repentance. 

25.  Prove  that  the  least  sin  deserves  condemnation. 

26.  Prove  that  no  sin  will  secure  condemnation  in  the  ease  of 
the  truly  penitent. 

27.  Prove  that  men  ought  to  repent  of  their  particular  sinful 
actions,  as  well  as  of  their  sinfulness  in  general. 

28.  What  is  the  first  point  affirmed  in  the  sixth  Section? 

29.  What  is  the  second  point  affirmed  there  ? 

30.  What  is  the  third  point  affirmed  there  ? 

31.  What  does  the  Romish  Church  teach  as  to  confession  of 
Bins? 

32.  What  does  she  teach  as  to  absolution  from  sin  ? 

33.  Prove  that  she  is  wrong  as  to  her  doctrine  of  confession. 

34.  Prove  that  she  is  wrong  as  to  priestly  absolution. 


CHAPTER  XVI, 


OF   GOOD   WOPwKS. 


Section  I. — Good  works  are  only  such  as  God  hath  com- 
manded in  his  holy  word,1  and  not  such  as,  without  the  warrant 
thereof,  are  devised  by  men,  out  of  blind  zeal,  or  upon  any  pre- 
tence of  good  intention.2 

Section  II. — These  good  works,  done  in  obedience  to  God's 
commandments,  are  the  fruits  and  evidences  of  a  true  and  lively 
faith  ;3  and  by  them  believers  manifest  their  thankfulness,4 
strengthen  their  assurance,6  edify  their  brethren,6  adorn  the  pro- 
fession of  the  gospel,1  stop  the  mouths  of  the  adversaries,8  and 
glorify  God,9  whose  workmanship  they  are,  created  in  Christ 
Jesus  thereunto  ;10  that,  having  their  fruit  unto  holiness,  they 
may  have  the  end,  eternal  life.11 

1  Mic.  vi.  8;  Rom.  xii.  2;  Heb.  xiii.  21.—'  Matt.  xv.  9;  Isa.  xxix.  13; 
1  Pet.  i.  18;  Rom.  x.  2;  John  xvi.  2;  1  Sam.  xv.  21-23.— 3  James  ii.  18, 
22.—*  Ps.  cxvi.  12,  13 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  9.— 5  1  John  ii.  3,  5 ;  2  Pet.  i.  5-10.— «  2 
Cor.  is.  2;  Matt.  v.  16.— »  Tit.  ii.  5,  9-12;  1  Tim.  vi.  1.— 8  1  Pet.  ii.  15.— 
»  1  Pet.  ii.  12 ;  Phil.  i.  11 ;  John  xv.  8.— w  Eph.  ii.  10.— »  Rom.  vi.  22. 

These  Sections  teach  the  following  propositions : 
1st.  In  order  that  any  human  action  should  be  truly 
a  good  work,  it  must  have  the  following  essential  cha- 
racteristics: (1.)  It  must  be  something  directly  or  im- 
plicitly commanded  by  God.  (2.)  It  must  spring  from 
an  inward  principle  of  faith  and  love  in  the  heait. 
Works  not  commanded  by  God,  but  invented  and 
gratuitously   performed    by  men,  are    utterly  destitute 

298 


GOOD    WORKS.  299 

of  moral  character,  and,  if  offered  in  the  place  of  the 
obedience  required,  they  are  offensive. 

2d.  The  effects  and  uses  of  good  works  in  the  Chris- 
tian life  are  manifold,  and  are  such  as — (1.)  They  ex- 
press the  gratitude,  manifest  the  grace  of  God  in  the 
believer,  and  so  adorn  the  profession  of  the  gospel.  (2.) 
They  glorify  God.  (3.)  They  develop  grace  by  exercise, 
and  so  strengthen  the  believer's  assurance.  (4.)  They 
edify  the  brethren.  (5.)  They  stop  the  mouths  of 
adversaries.  (6.)  They  are  necessary  to  the  attainment 
of  eternal  life. 

1st.  In  order  that  a  work  may  be  good,  it  must  be 
an  act  performed  in  conformity  to  God's  revealed  will. 
The  law  of  absolute  moral  perfection  to  which  we  are 
held  in  subjection  is  not  the  law  of  our  own  reasons  or 
consciences,  but  it  is  an  all-perfect  rule  of  righteousness, 
having  its  ground  in  the  eternal  nature  of  God,  and  its 
expression  and  obliging  authority  to  us  in  the  divine 
will.  Not  self-development,  not  the  realization  of  an 
ideal  end,  but  obedience  to  a  personal  authority  without 
and  above  us,  is  precisely  what  reason,  conscience  and 
Scripture  require.  The  good  man  is  the  obedient  man. 
The  sinner  in  every  transgression  of  virtue  is  conscious 
that  he  is  guilty  of  disobedience  to  the  supreme  Law- 
giver. David  says  in  his  repentance,  "Against  thee, 
thee  only  have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy 
sight."  Ps.  li.  4.  God  has  given  in  the  inspired  Scrip- 
tures a  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Every  prin- 
ciple, every  motive  and  every  end  of  right  action,  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  God,  may  there  be  easily  learned  by 
the  devout  inquirer.  God  says  to  his  Church  :  "  What 
thing  soever  I  command  you,  observe  to  do  it;  thou 


300  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

slialt  not  add  thereunto  nor  diminish  from  it.  Dent, 
xii.  32 ;  Rev.  xxii.  18,  19.  And  God  very  energetically 
declares  his  abhorrence  of  uncommanded  servic  3,  of 
" voluntary  humility"  and  "will-worship."  Isa.  i.  11, 
12;  Col.  ii.  16,  23. 

2d.  In  order  that  a  work  may  be  truly  good,  it  must 
spring  from  a  principle  of  faith  and  love  in  the  heart. 
All  men  recognize  that  the  moral  character  of  ar  act 
always  is  determined  by  the  moral  character  of  the  pi'n- 
ciple  or  affection  which  prompts  to  it.  Unregeno^ate 
men  perform  many  actions,  good  so  far  as  their  extc  al 
relations  to  their  fellow-men  are  concerned.  But  We 
to  God  is  the  foundation-principle  upon  which  all  moral 
duties  rest,  just  as  our  relation  to  God  is  the  funda- 
mental relation  upon  which  all  our  other  relations  rest. 
If  a  man  is  alienated  from  God,  if  he  is  not  in  the 
present  exercise  of  trust  in  him  and  love  for  him,  any 
action  he  can  perform  will  lack  the  essential  element 
which  makes  it  a  true  obedience.  Good  works  accord- 
ing to  the  Scriptures  are  the  fruits  of  sanctification, 
having  their  root  in  regeneration.  u  For  we  are  his 
workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works, 
which  God  hath  before  ordained,  that  we  should  walk  in 
them."  Eph.  ii.  10.  James  says  that  faith  is  shown  by 
works,  which  of  course  implies  that  the  kind  of  works 
of  which  he  speaks  spring  only  from  a  believing  heart. 
James  ii.  18,  22. 

3d.  The  effects  and  uses  of  good  works  in  the  Chris- 
tian life  are  manifold,  and  are  such  as — (1.)  They  ex- 
press the  gratitude  and  manifest  the  grace  of  God  in 
the  believer,  and  so  adorn  the  profession  of  the  gospel. 
Faith  works  by  love.  Gal.  v.  6.     Christ  says  that  we 


GOOD   WORKS.  301 

are  to  express  our  love  for  him  by  keeping  his  com- 
mandments. John  xiv.  15,  23.  As  they  are  the  fruits 
of  the"  Spirit,  they  render  manifest  the  excellent  work- 
ing of  the  Spirit.  1  Tim.  ii.  10;  Tit.  ii.  10.  (2.)  They 
glorify  God.  Since  God  is  their  author  (Eph.  ii.  10), 
they  manifest  the  excellency  of  his  grace,  and  excite  all 
who  behold  them  to  appreciate  and  proclaim  his  glory. 
Matt.  v.  16;  1  Pet.  ii.  12.  (3.)  As  they  spring  from 
grace,  so  the  performance  of  them  exercises  grace  in 
general,  and  each  grace  severally  according  to  the  nature 
of  ^he  work  performed.  Thus  by  the  universal  law  of 
habit  grace  grows  by  its  exercise.  And  the  assurance 
as  to  our  own  gracious  state  naturally  increases  with  the 
strength  and  evidence  of  those  graces  unto  which  the 
promise  of  salvation  is  attached.  (4.)  They  edify  the 
brethren.  Good  works  edify  others,  both  as  confirma- 
tory evidence  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  and  the  power 
of  divine  grace,  and  by  the  force  of  example  inducing 
men  to  practice  the  same.  1  Thess.  i.  7 ;  1  Tim.  iv.  12; 
1  Pet.  v.  3.  (5.)  For  the  same  reasons  good  works 
disprove  the  cavils  and  render  nugatory  the  opposition 
of  wicked  men.  1  Pet.  ii.  15.  (6.)  They  are  necessary 
to  the  attainment  of  salvation,  not  in  any  sense  as  a 
prerequisite  to  justification,  nor  as  in  any  stage  of  the 
believer's  progress  meriting  the  divine  favour,  but  as 
essential  elements  of  that  salvation,  the  consubstantial 
fruits  and  means  of  sanctification  and  glorification.  A 
saved  soul  is  a  holy  soul,  and  a  holy  soul  is  one  whose 
faculties  are  all  engaged  in  works  of  loving  obedi- 
ence. Grace  in  the  heart  cannot  exist  without  good 
works  as  its  consequent.  Good  works  cannot  exist 
without  the  increase  of  the  graces  which  are  exercised 


302  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

in  them.  Heaven  could  not  exist  except  as  a  society  of 
holy  souls  mutually  obeying  the  law  of  love  in  all  the 
good  works  that  law  requires.  Eph.  v.  25-27 ;  1  Thess. 
iv.  6,  7;  Rev.  xxi.  27. 

Section  III. — Their  ability  to  do  good  works  is  not  at  all  of 
themselves,  but  wholly  from  the  Spirit  of  Christ.12  And  that 
they  may  be  enabled  thereunto,  besides  the  graces  they  have 
already  received,  there  is  required  an  actual  influence  of  the 
same  Holy  Spirit  to  work  in  them  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
good  pleasure:13  yet  are  they  not  hereupon  to  grow  negligent,  as 
if  they  were  not  bound  to  perform  any  duty  unless  upon  a  special 
motion  of  the  Spirit ;  but  they  ought  to  be  diligent  in  stirring 
up  the  grace  of  God  that  is  in  them.14 

12  John  xv.  4-6;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26,  27.— 13  Phil.  ii.  13;  iv.  13;  2  Cor.  iii. 
5.— i*  Phil.  ii.  12;  Heb.  vi.  11,  12;  2  Pet.  i.  3,  5,  10,  11;  Isa.  Ixiv.  7;  2 
Tim.  i.  6;  Acts  xxvi.  6,  7 ;  Jude  20,  21. 

As  we  have  seen  under  Chapter  x.,  in  regeneration 
the  Holy  Spirit  implants  a  permanent  holy  principle  or 
habit  in  the  soul  which  ever  continues  the  germ  or  seed 
from  which  all  gracious  affections  and  holy  exercises  do 
proceed.  In  respect  to  the  implantation  of  this  per- 
manent holy  principle  by  the  Holy  Spirit  the  soul  is 
passive.  But  the  instant  this  new  moral  disposition  or 
tendency  is  implanted  in  the  soul,  as  a  matter  of  course 
the  moral  character  of  its  exercises  is  changed,  and  the 
soul  becomes  active  in  good  works,  as  before  it  had  been 
iu  evil  ones.  But,  as  we  also  saw  under  Chapter  xiii., 
sanctification  is  a  work  of  God's  free  grace,  wherein 
ho  continues  graciously  to  sustain,  nourish  and  guide 
the  exercise  of  the  permanent  habit  of  grace  which  he 
had  implanted  in  regeneration.  The  regenerated  man 
depends  upon  the  continuoc1   indwelling,  the  prompting 


GOOD   WOKKS.  303 

and  the  sustaining  and  the  enabling  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  every  act  of  obedience  in  the  exercise  of  grace; 
nevertheless  as  the  acts  of  obedience  to  the  performance 
of  which  the  Spirit  prompts  and  enables  him  are  his 
own  acts,  it  follows  that  he,  while  seeking  the  guidance 
and  support  of  grace,  must  actively  co-operate  with  it, 
acting  like  every  free  agent  under  the  influence  of  mo- 
tives and  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility.  Hence 
this  Section  asserts — 

1st.  That  the  ability  of  the  Christian  to  do  good 
works  is  not  at  all  from  himself,  but  wholly  from  the 
Spirit  of  Christ. 

2d.  That  in  order  thereto,  in  addition  to  the  grace 
implanted  in  regeneration,  there  is  needed  a  continual 
influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  all  the  faculties  of 
the  renewed  soul,  whereby  the  Christian  is  enabled  to 
will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure. 

3d.  That  this  doctrine  of  the  absolute  dependence  of 
the  soul  is  not  to  be  perverted  into  an  occasion  to  indo- 
lence, or  to  abate  in  any  degree  our  sense  of  personal 
obligation.  God's  will  is  exhibited  to  us  objectively  in 
the  written  word.  The  obligation  to  voluntary  obedi- 
ence binds  our  consciences.  The  Holy  Spirit  does  not 
work  independently  of  the  Word,  but  through  .the  Word, 
nor  does  he  work  irrespectively  of  our  constitutional 
faculties  of  reason,  conscience  and  free  wTill,  but  through 
them.  It  hence  follows  that  we  can  never  honour  the 
Holy  Spirit  by  waiting  for  his  special  motions,  but  that 
we  always  yield  to  and  co-work  with  him  when  we, 
while  seeking  his  guidance  and  assistance,  use  all  means 
of  grace  and  all  our  own  best  energies  in  being  and 
doing  all  that  the  Jaw  of  God  requires.     It  is  never  the 


304  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

waiters  for  grace,  but  always  the  active  seekers  for  grace 
and  doers  of  his  word,  whom  God  approves.  Luke  xi. 
9-13;  James  i.  22,  23. 

Section  IV. — They  who  in  their  obedience  attain  to  the  great- 
est height  which  is  possible  in  this  life,  are  so  far  from  being  able 
to  supererogate,  and  to  do  more  than  God  requires,  as  that  they 
fall  short  of  much  which  in  duty  they  are  bound  to  do.15 

Section  V. — We  cannot,  by  our  best  works,  merit  pardon  of 
sin,  or  eternal  life,  at  the  hand  of  God,  by  reason  of  the  great 
disproportion  that  is  between  them  and  the  glory  to  come,  and 
the  infinite  distance  that  is  between  us  and  God,  whom  by  them 
we  can  neither  profit,  nor  satisfy  for  the  debt  of  our  former 
sins  ;16  but  when  we  have  done  all  we  can,  we  have  done  but  our 
duty,  and  are  unprofitable  servants ;"  and  because,  as  they  are 
good,  they  proceed  from  his  Spirit  ;18  and,  as  they  are  wrought 
by  us,  they  are  defiled  and  mixed  with  so  much  weakness  and 
imperfection,  that  they  cannot  endure  the  severity  of  God's 
judgment.19 

Section  VI. — Yet,  notwithstanding,  the  persons  of  believers 
being  accepted  through  Christ,  their  good  works  also  are  accepted 
in  him  ;M  not  as  though  they  were  in  this  life  wholly  unblam- 
able and  unreprovable  in  God's  sight  ;21  but  that  he,  looking  upon 
them  in  his  Son,  is  pleased  to  accept  and  reward  that  which  is 
sincere,  although  accompanied  with  many  weaknesses  and  imper- 
fections.22 

15  Luke  xvii.  10;  Neb.  xiii.  22;  Job  ix.  2,  3;  Gal.  v.  17-— 16  Rom.  iii. 
20;  iv.  2,  4,  6;  Eph.  ii.  8,  9;  Tit.  iii.  5-7;  Rom.  viii.  IS;  Ps.  xvi.  2;  Job 
xxii.  2,  3;  xxxv.  7,  8.— "  Luke  xvii.  10.— w  Gal.  v.  22,  23.— "  Isa.  lxiv. 
6;  Gal.  v.  17;  Rom.  vii.  15,  18;  Ps.  cxliii.  2;  cxxx.  3.—20  Eph.  i.  6  j  1 
Pet.  ii.  5 ;  Ex.  xxviii.  38 ;  Gen.  iv.  4;  Heb.  xi.  4.— 21  Job  ix.  20  ;  Ps.  cxliii. 
2.— 22  Heb.  xiii.  20,  21 ;  2  Cor.  viii.  12;  Heb.  vi.  10 ;  Matt.  xxv.  21,  23. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  That  works  of  supererogation  are  so  far  from 
being  possible,  even  for  the  most  eminent  saint,  that  in 
this  life  it  is  not  possible  for  the  most  thoroughly  sanc- 
tified one  fully  to  discharge  all  his  positive  obligations. 


GOOD   WORKS.  305 

2d.  That,  for  several  reasons  assigned,  the  best  works 
of  believers,  so  far  from  meriting  either  the  pardon  of 
sin  or  eternal  life  at  the  hands  of  God,  cannot  even 
endure  the  scrutiny  of  his  holy  judgment. 

3d.  That,  nevertheless,  the  works  of  sincere  believers 
are,  like  their  persons,  in  spite  of  their  imperfections, 
accepted  because  of  their  union  with  Christ  Jesus,  and 
rewarded  for  his  sake. 

1st.  The  phrase  " supererogation"  means  "more  than 
is  demanded.7'  Works  of  supererogation  are  in  their 
own  nature  impossible  under  the  moral  law  of  God.  In 
man's  present  state  even  the  most  eminent  saint  is  inca- 
pable of  fully  discharging  all  his  obligations — much 
more,  of  course,  of  surpassing  them.  The  Romish 
Church  teaches  the  ordinary  Arminian  theory  of  perfec- 
tionism. In  addition  to  this  error,  it  teaches  (a)  that 
good  works  subsequent  to  baptism  merit  increase  of 
grace  and  eternal  felicity  ;*  and  (h)  it  distinguishes 
between  the  commands  and  counsels  of  Christ.  The 
former  are  binding  upon  all  classes  of  the  people,  and 
their  observance  necessary  in  order  to  salvation.  The 
latter,  consisting  of  advice,  not  of  commands — such  as 
celibacy,  voluntary  poverty,  obedience  to  monastic  rule, 
etc. — are  binding  only  on  those  who  voluntarily  assume 
them,  seeking  a  higher  degree  of  perfection  and  a  more 
exalted  reward. 

.  We  have  already,  under  Chapter  xiii.,  seen  that  a 
state  of  sinless  perfection  is  never  attained  by  Christians 
in  this  life,  and  it  of  course  follows  that  much  less  is  it 
possible  for  any  to  do  more  than  is  commanded. 

That  works  of  supererogation  are  always  and  essen- 

*  Council  of  Trent,  Sess.  vi    ch.  xvi.,  Canon  24  32. 
20 


306  CONFESSION   OF   FAI1H. 

tially  impossible  to  all  creatures  in  all  worlds  is  also 
evident — (1.)  From  the  very  nature  of  the  moral  law. 
That  which  is  right  under  any  relation  is  intrinsically 
obligatory  upon  the  moral  agent  standing  in  that  rela- 
tion. If  it  be  moral  it  is  obligatory.  If  it  be  not 
obligatory,  it  is  not  moral.  If  it  is  not  moral,  it  is,  cf 
course,  of  no  moral  value  or  merit.  If  it  is  obligatory, 
it  is  not  supererogatory.  When  men  do  what  it  is  their 
duty  to  do  they  are  to  claim  nothing  for  it.  Luke  xvii. 
10.  (2.)  The  doing  of  that  which  God  has  not  made 
it  men's  duty  to  do — all  manner  of  will-worship  and 
commandments  of  men — God  declares  is  an  abomination 
to  him.  Col.  ii.  18-22;  1  Tim.  iv.  3;  Matt.  xv.  9. 
(3.)  Christ  has  given  no  "counsels,"  as  distinct  from  his 
commands.  His  absolute  and  universal  command  to 
love  God  with  the  whole  soul,  and  our  neighbour  as 
ourselves,  covers  the  whole  ground  of  possible  ability  or 
opportunity  on  earth  or  in  heaven.  Matt.  xxii.  37-40. 
(4.)  Increase  of  grace  and  eternal  felicity,  and  all  else 
which  the  believer  needs  or  is  capable  of,  are  secured  for 
him  by  the  purchase  of  Christ's  blood,  and  either  given 
freely  now  without  price,  or  reserved  for  him  in  that 
eternal  inheritance  which  he  is  to  receive  as  a  joint  heir 
with  Christ.  (5.)  The  working  of  the  Romish  system 
of  celibacy,  voluntary  poverty  and  monastic  vows,  has 
produced  such  fruits  that  prove  the  principle  on  which 
they  rest  radically  immoral  and  false. 

2d.  The  best  works  of  believers,  instead  of  meriting 
pardon  of  sin  and  eternal  life,  cannot  endure  the  scrutiny 
of  his  holy  judgment.  The  reasons  for  this  assertion 
are — (1.)  As  above  shown,  from  the  nature  of  the  moral 
law.     What  is  not  obligatory  is  not  moral,  and  what  is 


GOOD    WORKS.  307 

not  moral  can  have  no  moral  desert.  (2.)  The  best 
woiks  possible  for  man  are  infinitely  unworthy  to  be 
compared  in  value  with  God's  favour,  and  the  rewards 
which  men  who  trust  to  works  seek  to  obtain  through 
them.  (3.)  God's  infinite  superiority  to  us,  his  absolute 
proprietorship  in  us  as  our  Maker,  and  sovereignty  over 
us  as  our  moral  Governor,  necessarily  exclude  the  pos- 
sibility of  our  actions  deserving  any  reward  at  his  hand. 
No  action  of  ours  can  profit  God  or  lay  him  under  obli- 
gation to  us.  All  that  is  possible  to  us  is  already  a  debt 
we  owe  him  as  our  Creator  and  Preserver.  When  we 
have  done  our  utmost  we  are  only  unprofitable  servants. 
Much  less,  then,  can  any  possible  obedience  at  one 
moment  atone  for  any  disobedience  in  another  moment. 
(4.)  As  already  proved  under  Chapter  xiii.,  on  Sanctifi- 
cation,  our  works,  which  could  merit  nothing  even  if 
perfect,  are  in  this*  life,  because  of  remaining  imperfec- 
tions, most  imperfect.  They  therefore,  the  best  of  them, 
need  to  be  atoned  for  by  the  blood,  and  presented  through 
the  mediation,  of  Christ,  before  they  can  find  acceptance 
with  the  Father. 

3d.  Nevertheless,  the  good  works  of  sincere  believers 
are,  like  their  persons,  in  spite  of  their  imperfections, 
accepted,  because  of  their  union  with  Christ  Jesus,  and 
rewarded  for  his  sake.  All  our  approaches  to  God  are 
made  through  Christ.  It  is  only  through  him  that  we 
have  access  to  the  Father  by  the  Spirit.  Eph.  ii.  18. 
"  Whatever  we  do,  in  word  or  deed,"  we  are  com- 
manded to  "do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Col. 
iii.  17. 

As  to  the  relation  of  good  works  to  rewards,  it  may 
be  observed — (1.)  The  word  merit,  in  the  strict  sense 


308  CONFESSION     >F   FAITH. 

of  the  term,  means  that  common  quality  of  all  actions 
or  services  to  which  a  reward  is  due  in  strict  justice  on 
account  of  their  intrinsic  value  or  worthiness.  It  is 
evident  that,  in  this  strict  sense,  no  work  of  any  crea- 
ture can  in  itself  merit  any  reward  from  God,  because 
(a)  all  the  faculties  he  possesses  were  originally  granted 
and  are  continuously  sustained  by  God,  so  that  he  is 
already  so  far  in  debt  to  God  that  he  can  never  bring 
God  in  debt  to  him.  (6.)  Nothing  the  creature  can  do 
can  be  a  just  equivalent  for  the  incomparable  favour  of 
God  and  its  consequences. 

There  is  another  sense  of  the  word,  however,  in  which 
it  may  be  affirmed  that  if  Adam  had  in  his  original 
probation  yielded  the  obedience  required,  he  would  have 
u  merited  "  the  reward  conditioned  upon  it,  not  because 
of  the  intrinsic  value  of  that  obedience,  but  because  of 
the  terms  of  the  covenant  which  God  had  graciously 
condescended  to  form  with  him.  By  nature,  the  crea- 
ture owed  the  Creator  obedience,  while  the  Creator 
owed  the  creature  nothing.  But  by  covenant  the  Cre- 
ator voluntarily  bound  himself  to  owe  the  creature 
eternal  life,  upon  the  condition  of  perfect  obedience. 

It  is  evident  that  in  this  life  the  works  of  God's 
people  can  have  no  merit  in  either  of  the  senses  above 
noticed.  They  can  have  no  merit  intrinsically,  because 
they  are  all  imperfect,  and  therefore  themselves  wor- 
thy of  punishment  rather  than  of  reward.  They  can 
have  no  merit  by  covenant  concession  on  God's  part, 
because  we  are  not  now  standing  in  God's  sight  in 
the  covenant  of  works,  but  of  grace,  and  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  received  by  faith  alone,  constitutes 
the   sole    meritorious  ground   upon  which    our   salva- 


GOOD    WORKS.  309 

tion,  in  all  of  its  stages,  rests.     See  Chapter  xi.,  on 
Justification. 

In  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  the  gracious  work 
of  the  believer  and  the  gracious  reward  he  receives  from 
God  are  branches  from  the  same  gracious  root.  The 
same  covenant  of  grace  provides  at  once  for  the  infusion 
of  grace  in  the  heart,  the  exercise  of  grace  in  the  life 
and  the  reward  of  the  grace  so  exercised.  It  is  all  of 
grace — a  grace  called  a  reward  added  to  a  grace  called  a 
work.  The  one  grace  is  set  opposite  to  the  other  grace 
as  a  reward,  for  these  reasons :  (a.)  To  act  upon  us  as  a 
suitable  stimulus  to  duty.  God  promises  to  reward  the 
Christian  just  as  a  father  promises  to  reward  his  child 
for  doing  what  is  its  duty,  and  what  is  for  its  own  ben- 
efit alone,  (b.)  Because  a  certain  gracious  proportion 
has  been  established  between  the  grace  given  in  the 
reward  and  the  grace  given  in  the  holy  exercises  of  the 
heart  and  life,  but  both  are  alike  given  for  Christ's  salve. 
This  proportion  has  been  established — the  more  grace 
of  obedience,  the  more  grace  of  reward  ;  the  more  grace 
on  earth,  the  more  glory  in  heaven — because  God  so 
wills  it,  and  because  the  grace  given  and  exercised  in 
obedience  prepares  the  soul  for  the  reception  of  the  fur- 
ther grace  given  in  the  reward.  Matt.  xvi.  27 ;  1  Cor. 
iii.  8 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  17. 

Section  VII. — Works  done  by  unregeneratc  men,  although, 
for  the  matter  of  them,  they  may  be  things  which  God  com- 
mands, and  of  good  use  both  to  themselves  and  others,23  yet,  be- 
cause they  proceed  not  from  a  heart  purified  by  faith,24  nor  are 
done  in  a  right  manner,  according  to  the  Word,'-15  nor  to  a  right 
end,  the  glory  of  God,26  they  are  therefore  sinful,  and  cannot 
please  God  or  make  a  man  meet  to  receive  grace  from  God.*1 


310  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

And  yet  their  neglect  of  them  is  more  sinful  and  displeasing  unto 
<}od.28 

»  2  Kings  x.  30,  31 ;  1  Kings  xxi.  27,  29  ;  Phil.  i.  15,  16,  IS.—2*  Gen.  iv. 
5  ;  Heb.  xi.  4,  6.— 25  1  Cor.  xiii.  3  ;  Isa.  i.  12.— 26  Matt.  vi.  2,  5,  16.—"  Hag. 
ii.  14;  Tit.  i.  15;  Amos  v.  21,  22;  Hos.  i.  4;  Rom.  ix.  16;  Tit.  iii.  5.— 
28  Ps.  xiv.  4;  xxxvi.  3;  Job  xxi.  14,  15;  Matt.  xxv.  41-43,  45;  xxiii.  23. 

This  Section  teaches — 

1st.  That  unregenerate  men  may  perform  many  ac- 
tions which,  for  the  matter  of  them,  are  such  as  God 
commands,  and  are  of  good  use  both  to  themselves  and 
others.  The  truth  of  this  is  verified  in  the  experience 
and  observation  of  all  men,  and  we  believe  it  is  not 
called  in  question  by  any  party. 

2d.  Nevertheless,  they  are  at  best,  all  of  them,  not 
only  imperfect  works' morally  considered,  but  ungodly 
works  religiously  considered.  They  are,  therefore,  not 
in  the  scriptural  sense  good  works,  nor  can  they  satisfy 
the  requirements  of  God,  nor  merit  grace,  nor  make  the 
soul  fit  for  the  reception  of  grace. 

The  distinction  is  plain  between  an  action  in  itself 
considered,  and  considered  in  its  motives  and  object.  A 
truly  good  work  is  one  which  springs  from  a  principle 
of  divine  love,  and  has  the  glory  of  God  as  its  object 
and  the  revealed  will  of  God  as  its  rule.  None  of  the 
actions  of  an  unregenerate  man  are  of  this  character. 

There  is  also  an  obvious  distinction  between  an  act 
viewed  in  itself  abstractly,  and  the  same  action  viewed 
in  relation  to  the  person  performing  it  and  his  personal 
relations.  A  rebel  against  sovereign  authority  may  do 
many  amiable  things  and  many  acts  of  real  virtue  as  far 
as  his  relations  to  his  fellow-rebels  are  concerned.  It  is 
nevertheless  true  that  a  rebel  during  the  whole  period 
of  his  rebellion  is  in  every  moment  of  time  and  every 


GOOD    WORKS.  311 

action  of  his  life  a  rebel  with  reference  to  that  su- 
preme authority  which  through  all  he  continues  to  defy. 
In  this  sense  the  ploughing  of  the  wicked  is  said  to 
be  sin.  Prov.  xxi.  4.  And  thus  as  long  as  men  stay 
away  from  Christ,  and  refuse  to  submit  to  the  righteous- 
ness of  God,  all  their  use  of  the  means  of  grace  and  all 
their  natural  virtues  are  sins  in  God's  sight. 

3d.  Nevertheless  God  is  more  displeased  with  their 
neglecting  to  do  these  commanded  duties  at  all  than  he 
is  with  their  doing  them  sinfully  as  sinners.  These 
works  done  by  unregenerate  men  are  commanded  by 
God,  and  hence  are  their  bounden  duties.  Their  sin 
lies  not  in  the  doing  them,  but  in  their  personal  attitude 
of  rebellion  and  in  the  absence  of  the  proper  motives 
and  objects.  If  they  neglect  to  do  them,  the  neglect 
would  be  added  to  the  other  grounds  of  condemnation, 
which  would  remain  all  the  same.  These  ought  they 
to  do,  but  not  to  leave  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law 
undone.  The  amiable  acts  of  a  rebel  must  involve  ele- 
ments of  rebellion,  and  yet  he  would  be  more  to  be  con- 
demned without  them  than  with  them. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  are  taught  in  the  first  and  second  Sections  to  be  the 
essential  characteristics  of  every  truly  good  work  ? 

2.  What  is  there  taught  us  as  to  the  effects  and  uses  of  good 
works? 

3.  State  the  proof  derived  from  the  nature  of  the  moral  law 
itself,  that  every  work  in  order  to  be  truly  good  must  be  wrought 
in  obedience  to  the  revealed  will  of  God. 

4.  Show  trat  all  virtue  is  obedience,  and  all  sin  disobedience. 


312  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

5.  Prove  that  God  abhors  all  ' '  will-worship' '  and  uncom 
nianded  service. 

G.  Prove  that  a  work  in  order  to  be  truly  good  must  spring 
from  a  principle  of  faith  and  love  in  the  heart. 

7.  Show  that  good  works  express  gratitude,  manifest  grace 
and  adorn  the  Christian  profession. 

8.  Prove  that  they  glorify  God. 

9.  Prove  that  they  tend  to  increase  the  grace  from  which  they 
spring,  and  to  strengthen  the  assurance  of  hope  on  the  part  of 
those  who  perform  them. 

10.  Show  that  they  edify  the  brethren. 

11.  Show  that  they  stop  the  mouths  of  adversaries. 

12.  Show  that  they  are  necessary  to  the  attainment  of  salva- 
tion, and  on  what  grounds. 

13.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  Section  iii.  ? 

14.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

1 5.  Prove  that,  besides  the  grace  granted  in  regeneration,  the 
believer  needs,  in  order  to  good  works,  the  constant  prompting, 
sustaining  and  enabling  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

16.  What  is  the  third  proposition  there  taught? 

17.  Show  that  the  Christian  is  not  to  wait  for  special  influ- 
ences of  the  Spirit  to  prompt  him  to  duty,  but  in  reliance  on 
the  constant  assistance  of  the  Spirit,  and  in  obedience  to 
God's  will  revealed  in  his  word,  to  use  with  diligence  the  grace 
he  already  has,  looking  for  and  expecting  more  as  the  necessity 
occurs. 

18.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  fourth,  fifth  and 
sixth  Sections? 

10.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

20.  What  is  the  third  taught? 

21.  What  are  works  of  "supererogation?" 

22.  What  is  the  Romish  doctrine  as  to  the  merit  of  good 
works,  and  of  works  of  supererogation? 

23.  Prove  from  the  nature  of  the  moral  law,  from  the  word  of 
God  and  from  the  practical  effects  of  the  Romish  system  that 
their  doctrine  as  to  works  of  supererogation  is  immoral. 

24.  Prove  that  the  best  works  of  Christians  are  incapable  of 
sustaining  the  severity  of  God's  just  judgment. 


GOOD    WORKS.  313 

25.  On  what  grounds  are  the  good  works  of  believers  accepted 
by  God? 

26.  What  is  the  strict  sense  of  the  word  "  merit?" 

27    Show  that  in  that  sense  no  works  of  any  creature  can  pos- 
sibly merit  anything  at  the  hands  of  the  Creator. 

28.  What  is  the  secondary  sense  in  which  the  word  is  used  ? 

29.  Show  that  the  term  in  neither  of  these  senses  can  be  ap- 
plied justly  to  the  works  of  Christians  in  this  life. 

30.  What,  then,  is  the  relation  which  the  Scriptures  teach  sub- 
sist between  good  works  and  rewards? 

31.  Why  are  any  of  God's  purely  gracious  gifts  called  rewards? 

32.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  seventh  Sec- 
tion ? 

33.  Prove  that  the  best  works  of  the  unregenerate  are  not 
only  imperfect  morally,  but  religiously  ungodly. 

34.  Prove  that  nevertheless  they  commit  greater  sin  in  neglect- 
ing than  in  performing  these  duties. 

35.  What  is  the  first  and  absolutely  binding  duty  of  every 
rebel  against  God  and  his  Christ  ? 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

OF   THE   PERSEVERANCE   OF   THE   SAINTS. 

Section  I.  —They  whom  God  hath  accepted  in  his  Beloved, 
effectually  called  and  sanctified  by  his  Spirit,  can  neither  totally 
nor  finally  fall  away  from  the  state  of  grace ;  but  shall  certainly 
persevere  therein  to  the  end,  and  be  eternally  saved.1 

Section  II. — This  perseverance  of  the  saints  depends  not 
upon  their  own  free  will,  but  upon  the  immutability  of  the  decree 
of  election,  flowing  from  the  free  and  unchangeable  love  of  God 
the  Father  ;2  upon  the  efficacy  of  the  merit  and  intercession  of 
Jesus  Christ;3  the  abiding  of  the  Spirit,  and  of  the  seed  of  God 
within  them  ;4  and  the  nature  of  the  covenant  of  grace  ;5  from  all 
which  ariseth  also  the  certainty  and  infallibility  thereof.6 

Section  III. — Nevertheless  they  may  through  the  tempta- 
tions of  Satan  and  of  the  world,  the  prevalency  of  corruption 
remaining  in  them,  and  the  neglect  of  the  means  of  their  pre- 
servation, fall  into  grievous  sins;7  and  for  a  time  continue  there- 
in:8 whereby  they  incur  God's  displeasure,9  and  grieve  his  Holy 
Spirit  ;10  come  to  be  deprived  of  some  measure  of  their  graces 
and  comforts  ;"  have  their  hearts  hardened,12  and  their  con- 
sciences wounded  ;13  hurt  and  scandalize  others,14  and  bring  tem- 
poral judgments  upon  themselves.16 

1  Phil.  i.  6 ;  2  Pet.  i.  10  ;  John  x.  28,  29  ;  1  John  iii.  9 ;  1  Pet.  i.  5,  9.— 2  2 
Tim.  ii.  18,  19;  Jer.  xxxi.  3.-3  Heb.  x.  10,  14;  xiii.  20,  21;  ix.  12-15; 
Rom.  viii.  33-39;  John  xvii.  11,  21;  Luke  xxii.  32;  Heb.  vii.  25.—*  John 
xiv.  10,-17 J  1  John  ii.  27  ;  iii.  9.-5  Jer.  xxxii.  40.— «  John  x.  28;  2  Thess. 
iii.  3;  1  John  ii.  19.— »  Matt.  xxvi.  70,  72,  74.— 8  Ps.  Ii.  14.— »  Isa.  Ixiv.  5, 
7,  9;  2  Sam.  xi.  27.— 10  Eph.  iv.  30.—"  Ps.  Ii.  8,  10,  12;  Rev.  ii.  4;  Cant. 
v.  2-4,  6.— w  Isa.  lxiii.  17;  Mark  vi.  52,  xvi.  14.— "  Ps.  xxxii.  3,  4;  li.  & 
— »*  2  Sam.  xii.  14.— «  J  j.  lxxxix.  31,  32;  1  Cor.  xi.  32. 
314 


PERSEVERANCE   OF    THE   SAINTS.  315 

This  Chapter  teaches  the  following  propositions : 

1st.  The  true  believer,  having  been  once  regenerated 
and  justified  by  God,  can  never  afterward  totally  nor 
finally  fall  away  from  grace,  but  shall  certainly  per- 
severe therein  to  the  end. 

2d.  That  the  principle  of  this  certain  perseverance  is 
not  in  any  degree  in  the  free  will  of  the  saints,  but  alto- 
gether (1)  in  the  inherent  immutability  of  the  eternal 
decree  of  election  ;  (2)  in  the  provisions  of  the  eternal 
covenant  of  grace;  (3)  in  the  merits  and  intercession 
of  Christ ;  and  (4)  in  the  constant  indwelling  and  pre- 
serving power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

3d.  The  true  believer  may  nevertheless  fall  into 
grievous  sins,  and  for  a  time  continue  therein,  the  occa- 
sions of  which  falls  are — (1)  the  temptations  of  the 
world;  (2)  the  seductions  of  Satan;  (3)  the  remaining 
corruptions  of  their  own  nature;  (4)  the  neglect  of  the 
means  of  grace.  The  effects  of  which  falls  are — (1)  God 
is  displeased  and  the  Holy  Ghost  grieved ;  (2)  they  are 
themselves  to  a  degree  deprived  of  their  graces  and  com- 
forts, their  hearts  being  hardened  and  their  consciences 
wounded,  and  their  persons  visited  with  temporal  judg- 
ments ;  (3)  their  conduct  is  a  stumbling-block  to  all 
who  see  them,  and  an  occasion  of  sorrow  to  their  fellow- 
Christians. 

It  is  obvious  that  adherents  of  the  Arminian  and 
Calvinistic  systems  must  take  opposite  sides  on  this 
question.  The  Arminian,  as  we  have  seen,  holds — (1.) 
That  God  elects  persons  to  eternal  life  only  on  condition 
of  their  voluntary  reception  of  grace  and  perseverance 
therein  till  death,  as  foreseen  by  him.  (2.)  That  Christ 
died   to   render   the   salvation  of  all   men    indifferently 


316  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

possible,  and  not  as  the  substitute  of  certain  persons 
definitely  to  discharge  all  their  legal  obligations,  and  to 
secure  for  them  all  the  rewards  of  the  covenant,  (3.)  That 
all  men  have  the  same  gracious  influence  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  operating  upon  them,  and  that  the  reason  why 
one  believes  and  is  regenerated,  and  that  another  con- 
tinues reprobate,  is  that  the  former  voluntarily  co-oper- 
ates with  grace  and  that  the  other  resists  it.  Thus  in 
the  personal  application  of  redemption  the  Arminian 
makes  everything  to  depend  upon  the  free  will  of  the 
creature.  Since,  then,  neither  the  decree  of  God,  nor  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  nor  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
determines  the  certain  salvation  of  any  individual — 
since  the  application  and  effect  of  the  atonement  and 
of  the  renewing  and  sanctifying  influences  of  the  Spirit 
depend,  in  their  view,  upon  the  free  will  of  every  man 
in  his  own  case — it  necessarily  follows  that  the  persever- 
ance of  any  man  in  the  grace  once  received  must  also 
depend  entirely  upon  his  own  will.  And  since  the 
human  will  is  essentially  fallible  and  capable  of  change, 
and  in  this  life  exposed  to  seduction,  it  follows  of  course 
that  the  believer  is  at  all  times  liable  to  total  apostasy, 
and,  dying  in  that  state,  to  final  perdition.  Hence  the 
Romish  Church,  whose  doctrine  is  purely  Arminian, 
declares  in  her  authoritative  Standards :  "  If  any  one 
maintain  that  a  man  once  justified  cannot  lose  grace, 
and,  therefore,  that  he  who  falls  and  sins  never  was 
truly  justified,  let  him  be  accursed."  * 

The  Protestant  Arminians  also  hold  that  it  is  not 
nly  possible,  but  also  a  frequent  fact,  that  persons  truly 
regenerate,  by  neglecting  grace  and  grieving  the  Holy 
*  Council  of  Trent,  Sess.  vi.,  Canon  23. 


PERSEVERANCE    OF    THE    SAINTS.  317 

Spirit  with  sin,  fall  away  totally,  and  at  length  finally, 
from  grace  into  eternal  reprobation.* 

The  Calvinistic  doctrine,  as  stated  in  this  Chapter  of 
our  Confession,  is  that  God  has  revealed  his  gracious 
purpose  to  cause  every  true  believer  to  persevere  in  his 
faith  and  obedience  till  death ;  that  he  will  never  be 
allowed  to  fall  away  totally  from  grace,  and  therefore  he 
never  can  fall  away  finally. 

It  is  obvious,  from  this  statement,  that  this  doctrine 
is  not  open  to  the  objections  which  are  often  brought 
against  it.  (1.)  It  is  absurd  to  say  that  it  is  inconsistent 
with  man's  free  will.  As  God  does  not  make  a  man 
come  to  Christ,  so  he  does  not  constrain  him  to  continue 
in  Christ  irrespective  of  his  will.  God  graciously  causes 
a  man  to  persevere  in  willing.  That  is  the  whole  truth. 
It  is  a  precious  truth,  clearly  revealed,  which  the  Ar- 
minian  Christian  can  no  more  afford  to  give  up  than  the 
Calvinist,  that  God  can  and  does  control  the  free  wills 
of  his  people  without  limiting  their  liberty,  making  them 
"  willing  in  the  day  of  his  power,"  and  "working  in  them 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure. '  Ps.  ex.  3 ; 
Phil.  ii.  13.  The  Arminians  themselves  believe  that 
the  saints  will  be  rendered  secure  from  falling  from 
grace  when  they  go  to  heaven,  and  yet  that  they  will  be 
none  the  less  perfectly  free  as  to  their  wills.  If  the  two 
are  consistent  conditions  in  heaven,  they  can  be  none  the 
less  so  on  earth.  (2.)  This  doctrine  is  not  liable  to  the 
charge  of  fostering  a  spirit  of  carnal  security,  on  the 
ground  that  if  we  are  once  in  grace  we  cannot  lose 
grace  or  be  lost,  do  what  we  please.  Let  it  be  observed 
(a)  that  the  true  doctrine  is  not  that  salvation  is  certain 
*  Confession  of  the  Remonstrants,  xi.  7. 


318  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

if  we  have  once  believed,  but  that  perseverance  in  holi- 
ness is  certain  if  we  have  truly  believed.  (6.)  The  cer- 
tainty, nay,  the  probability,  of  an  individual's  salvation 
is  known  to  him  only  through  the  fact  of  his  persever- 
ance in  holiness.  A  tendency  to  relax  watchful  effort 
'to  grow  in  grace,  because  true  Christians  will  not  be 
allowed  to  fall  away  totally,  is  a  direct  evidence  that  we 
are  not  in  a  gracious  state,  and  hence  that  the  threaten- 
ing? of  the  law  and  the  invitations  of  the  gospel,  and 
not  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  is  the  special  truth 
applicable  to  our  case,  (c.)  This  doctrine  teaches  not 
that  persistent  effort  on  our  part  is  not  necessary  in 
order  to  secure  perseverance  in  grace  to  the  end,  but 
that  in  this  effort  we  are  certain  of  success,  "for  it  is 
God  that  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
good  pleasure."  Phil.  ii.  13. 

1st.  The  fact  of  this  certain  perseverance  is  distinctly 
asserted  in  Scripture.  Believers  are  said  to  be  a  kept 
by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation."  1 
Pet.  i.  5.  Paul  was  confident  "  that  he  who  hqd  begun 
a  good  work  in  them  (Philippians)  will  perform  it  (finish 
completely)  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ."  Phil.  i.  6. 
Jesus  said,  "  I  will  give  unto  them  (my  sheep)  eternal 
life,  and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  man 
pluck  them  out  of  my  hand."  John  x.  28  ;  Pom.  xi.  29. 

2d.  The  ground  of  this  certain  perseverance  is  not  at 
all  in  the  free  will  of  the  saints,  but  altogether  (1)  in 
the  inherent  immutability  of  the  eternal  decree  of  elec- 
tion. We  saw  under  Chapter  iii.  that  God's  decree  of 
election  (a)  respects  individuals,  (b)  chooses  them  to  sal- 
vation and  all  the  means  thereof,  (c)  is  not  conditioned 
on  the  use  he  foresees  they  will  make  of  grace,  but  is 


PERSEVERANCE   OF   THE   SaINTS.  319 

founded  on  "  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,"  (d)  is  immu- 
table and  certainly  efficacious.  Hence  those  elected  to  sal- 
tation through  grace  must  persevere  in  grace  unto  salva- 
tion. (2.)  The  ground  of  the  certainty  of  the  perseverance 
of  saints  is  also  laid  in  the  provisions  of  the  eternal  cove- 
nant of  grace.  We  saw  under  Chapter  vii.  that  the  Scrip- 
tures teach  that  there  was  a  covenant  or  personal  counsel 
from  eternity  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  as  the 
Surety  of  the  elect,  determining  explicitly  (a)  who  were 
to  be  saved,  (b)  what  Christ  was  to  do  and  suffer  in  order 
to  save  them,  (c)  as  to  how  and  when  the  redemption  of 
Christ  was  to  be  personally  applied  to  them,  (d)  as  to 
all  the  advantages  embraced  in  their  salvation,  etc. 
Hence  it  follows  necessarily  that  those  embraced  in  this 
covenant  cannot  fail  of  the  benefits  provided  for  them. 
"  My  Father  which  gave  them  me  is  greater  than  all, 
and  no  man  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's 
hand."  John  x.  29.  (3.)  This  certainty  is  grounded  in 
the  merits  and  intercession  of  Christ.  We  saw  under 
Chapter  viii.  that  the  Scriptures  teach  that  Christ,  by 
his  vicarious  obedience  and  suffering  as  their  federal 
representative,  wrought  out  a  perfect  righteousness  in 
the  stead  of  his  people,  which  people  were  all  individ- 
ually and  certainly  designated  in  the  eternal  covenant  in 
pursuance  of  which  he  acted,  and  that  he  makes  effec- 
tual intercession  in  heaven  for  all  those,  and  for  those 
only,  for  whom  he  hath  purchased  redemption.  Since, 
therefore,  neither  Christ's  redemption  nor  his  interces- 
sion can  fail  of  the  ends  for  which  it  is  designed,  it 
is  evidently  impossible  that  those  for  whom  he  was  sub- 
stituted, and  for  whom  he  acquired  a  perfect  righteous- 
ness, and  for  whom  he  offers  an  effectual  intercession, 


320  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

can  fail  of  salvation.  (4.)  The  certainty  of  the  perse- 
verance of  the  saints  in  grace  is  secured  by  the  constant 
indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  acts  upon  the  soul 
in  perfect  accordance  with  the  laws  of  its  constitution 
as  a  rational  and  moral  agent,  and  yet  so  as  to  secure 
the  ultimate  victory  of  the  new  spiritual  principles  and 
tendencies  implanted  in  regeneration.  John  xiv.  16,  17; 
1  John  iii.  9. 

3d.  The  contents  of  the  third  proposition  taught  in 
this  Chapter  should  be  examined  carefully  in  connection 
with  the  proof-texts  annexed  to  the  several  clauses. 
They  need  not  be  further  illustrated  by  us,  since  all 
therein  contained  is  a  matter  of  plain  meaning  and  of 
universal  experience.  Observe  the  cases  of  David  [2 
Sam.  xi.  2-4 ;  Ps.  li.)  and  Peter  (Luke  xxii.  Gl,  62). 
The  perseverance  of  believers  in  grace  is  wrought  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  not  irrespective  of,  but  through,  the 
free  will  of  the  man  himself.  Therefore  it  is  a  duty  as 
well  as  a  grace.  The  grace  of  it  should  be  preached  for 
the  encouragement  of  the  diligent.  The  duty,  and  ab- 
solute necessity  of  it  to  salvation,  should  be  preached 
to  quicken  the  slothful  and  to  increase  the  sense  of  obli- 
gation felt  by  all. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  this  Chapter? 

2.  What  is  the  difference  between  falling  totally  and  finally  ? 

3.  Why  must  Arminians  and  Calvinists  take  opposite  sides  on 
this  question  ? 

4.  What  is  the  Arminians'  doctrine  as  to  election? 

5.  What  is  their  doctrine  as  to  the  design  of  Christ's  death? 
a>.  What  is  th  ir  doctrine  as  to  the  relation  of  the  free  will  of 


PERSEVERANCE   OF   THE   SAINTS.  321 

the  sinner  to  the  gracious  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  regen* 
eration  ? 

7.  Show  that  their  position  on  all  these  points  renders  the  con 
elusion  inevitable  that  the  true  believer  may  totally  and  therefore 
may  finally  fall  from  grace. 

8.  State  the  doctrine  of  the  Romish  Church  on  this  point. 

9.  Do  the  same  of  the  Protestant  Arminians. 

10.  State  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  this  subject. 

11.  Show  that  doctrine  does  not  involve  any  denial  of  the  free- 
dom of  the  human  will. 

12.  Show  that  this  doctrine  is  not  open  to  the  charge  of  foster- 
ing among  those  who  think  themselves  believers  a  spirit  of  carnal 
security. 

13.  Show  that  the  Scriptures  explicitly  teach  the  fact  that  true 
believers  will  not  be  allowed  totally  and  finally  to  fall  from  grace. 

14.  Show  that  the  ground  of  this  certainty  does  not  consist  at 
all  in  the  free  will  of  the  believer. 

15.  Show  that  it  necessarily  follows  from  what  the  Scriptures 
teach  as  to  the  decree  of  election. 

16.  The  same  from  what  they  teach  as  to  the  eternal  covenant 
of  grace. 

17.  The  same  from  what  they  teach  as  to  the  design  of  Christ's 
death,  and  the  relation  which  his  merits  and  intercession  sustain 
to  individuals. 

18.  The  same  from  what  they  teach  as  to  the  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

19.  What  is  the  third  proposition  taught  in  this  Chapter? 

20.  What  are  the  principal  sources  and  occasions  of  falling  to 
which  a  true  believer  is  liable  ? 

21 .  What  are  the  principal  effects  to  which  they  give  rise  ? 

21 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

OF   ASSURANCE   OF   GRACE   AND   SALVATION. 

Section  I. — Although  hypocrites,  and  other  unregenerate  men, 
may  vainly  deceive  themselves  with  false  hopes  and  carnal  pre- 
sumptions of  being  in  the  favour  of  God  and  estate  of  salva- 
tion ;'  which  hope  of  theirs  shall  perish  ;2  yet  such  as  truly 
believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  love  him  in  sincerity,  endeavour- 
ing to  walk  in  all  good  conscience  before  him,  may  in  this  life  be 
certainly  assured  that  they  are  in  the  state  of  grace,8  and  may 
rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God ;  which  hope  shall  never 
make  them  ashamed.4 

Section  II. — This  certainly  is  not  a  bare  conjectural  and  pro- 
bable persuasion,  grounded  upon  a  fallible  hope  ;5  but  an  infallible 
assurance  of  faith,  founded  upon  the  divine  truth  of  the  promises 
of  salvation,6  the  inward  evidence  of  those  graces  unto  which 
these  promises  are  made,7  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  adop- 
tion witnessing  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  the  children  of  God  ;8 
which  Spirit  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  whereby  we  are 
sealed  to  the  day  of  redemption.9 

1  Job  viii.  13,  14;  Mic.  iii.  11;  Deut.  xxix.  19;  John  viii.  41.— 3  Matt, 
vii.  22,  23.— 3  1  John  ii.  3;  iii.  14,  18,  19,  21,  24;  v.  13.—*  Rom.  v.  2,  5.— 
6  Heb.  vi.  11,  19.— «Heb.  vi.  17,  18.— 7  2  Pet.  1,  4,  5,  10,  11;  1  John  ii.  3, 
iii.  14;  2  Cor.  i.  12.— »  Rom.  viii.  15,  16.— »  Eph.  i.  13,  14;  iv.  30;  2  Cor. 
i.  21,  22. 

These  Sections  teach  the  following  propositions : 
1st.  There  is  a  false  assurance  of  salvation  which 
unregenerate  men  sometimes  indulge,  in  which  they  are 
deceived  and  which  shall  be  finally  disappointed. 

322 


ASSURANCE   OF   GRACE   AND   SALVATION.        323 

2d.  There  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  true  assurance, 
amounting  to  ?.n  infallible  certainty,  which  sincere  be- 
lievers may  entertain  as  to  their  own  personal  salvation, 
which  shall  not  be  confounded. 

3d.  This  infallible  assurance  of  faith  rests — (1.)  Upon 
the  divine  truth  of  the  promises  of  salvation.  (2.)  Upon 
the  inward  evidence  of  those  graces  unto  which  those 
promises  are  made.  (3.)  The  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of 
adoption,  witnessing  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God. 

1st.  That  unregenerate  men,  beguiled  by  the  natural 
desire  for  happiness,  flattered  by  self-love,  and  betrayed 
by  a  spirit  of  self-righteousness  and  self-confidence, 
should  frequently  indulge  an  unfounded  assurance  of 
their  own  gracious  condition,  is  rendered  antecedently 
probable  from  what  we  know  of  human  nature,  and 
rendered  certain  as  a  fact  from  common  observation  and 
from  the  declarations  of  Scripture.  Mic.  iii.  11  ;  Job 
viii.  13,  14. 

True  assurance,  however,  may  be  distinguished  from 
that  which  is  false  by  the  following  tests  :  (1.)  True 
assurance  begets  unfeigned  humility ;  false  assurance 
begets  spiritual  pride.  1  Cor.  xv.  10;  Gal.  vi.  14.  (2.) 
The  true  leads  to  increased  diligence  in  the  practice  of 
holiness;  the  false  leads  to  sloth  and  self-indulgence. 
Ps.  li.  12,  13,  19.  (3.)  The  true  leads  to  candid  self- 
examination  and  to  a  desire  to  be  searched  and  corrected 
by  God ;  the  false  leads  to  a  disposition  to  be  satisfied 
with  appearance  and  to  avoid  accurate  investigation. 
Ps.  cxxxix.  23,  24.  (4.)  The  true  leads  to  constant 
aspirations  after  more  intimate  fellowship  with  God 
1  John  iii.  2,  3. 


324  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

2d.  That  true  believers  may  in  this  life  attain  to  a 
certainty  with  regard  to  their  own  personal  relations  tc 
Christ,  and  that  this  certainty  is  not  a  bare  conjectural 
and  probable  persuasion  founded  on  a  fallible  hope,  but 
an  infallible  assurance  of  faith,  is  proved  from  the  fact 
(1)  that  it  is  directly  affirmed  in  Scripture:  "The  Spirit 
itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God."  Rom.  viii.  16.  "  Hereby  we  know 
that  we  know  him,  if  we  keep  his  commandments."  1 
John  ii.  3.  "  We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren."  1  John  iii.  14. 
(2.)  The  attainment  of  it  is  commanded  as  a  duty  in 
Scripture.  We  are  exhorted  "  to  show  the  same  dili- 
gence to  the  full  assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end"  (Heb. 
vi.  11),  and  to  "  give  diligence  to  make  our  calling  and 
election  sure,  for  if  we  do  these  things  we  shall  never 
fall."  2Pet.  i.10.  (3.)  There  are  examples  of  its  attainment 
by  ancient  believers  recorded  in  Scripture.  Thus  Paul : 
"  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that 
he  is  able,"  etc.  "  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have 
kept  the  faith ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness,"  etc.  2  Tim.  i.  12;  iv.  7,  8; 
and  John  :  1  John  ii.  3  ;  xiv.  14.  (4.)  There  have  been 
unquestionable  instances  in  modern  times  in  which 
sincere  Christians  have  enjoyed  a  full  assurance  of  their 
personal  salvation,  and  in  which  their  entire  lives  have 
vindicated  the  genuineness  of  their  faith.  The  Pro- 
testant Reformers  as  a  class  were  eminent  examples  of 
the  possession  of  this  assurance.  God  had  qualified 
them  for  their  great  work  with  an  extraordinary  mea- 
sure of  this  grace.  Their  controversy  with  the  Roman- 
ists also   led  them   to  lay  great  stress  upon  the  duty  of 


ASSURANCE   OF    GRACE   AND   SALVATION.        325 

this  attainment,  even  going  so  far  as  to  identify  assu- 
rance and  faith,  making  it  essential  to  salvation.  The 
.Romanists  held  that  faith  is  mere  intellectual  assent  to 
the  truth,  not  involving  trust,  and  that  hence  faith  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  judgment  any  one  makes  of  his 
own  personal  salvation,  and  hence  that  no  one  could 
attain  to  any  certainty  upon  that  point  in  this  life  with- 
out an  extraordinary  revelation.*  The  Reformers,  on  the 
other  hand,  went  so  far  as  to  teach  that  the  special  object 
of  justifying  faith  is  the  favour  of  God  toward  us  for 
Christ's  sake.  Therefore  to  believe  is  to  be  assured  of 
our  own  personal  salvation.  Thus  Luther,  Melancthon 
and  Calvin  taught.  This  is  the  doctrine  taught  in  the 
Augsburg  Confession  and  Heidelberg  Catechism.  It  is 
not,  however,  taught  in  any  other  of  the  Reformed  Con- 
fessions, and,  as  will  be  seen  below,  is  not  the  doctrine 
of  our  Standards. 

3d.  This  infallible  assurance  of  faith  rests  (1)  upon 
the  divine  truth  of  the  promises  of  salvation.  Although 
it  is  one  thing  to  be  assured  that  the  promise  is  true,  and 
another  thing  to  be  assured  of  our  own  personal  interest 
in  it,  yet  assurance  of  the  truth  of  the  promise  tends,  in 
connection  with  a  sense  of  our  personal  reliance  upon  it, 
directly  to  strengthen  our  assured  hope  that  it  will 
be  fulfilled  in  our  case  also.  Therefore  God  confirmed 
his  promise  by  an  oath,  "  That  by  two  immutable  things 
(his  promise  and  his  oath),  in  which  it  is  impossible  for 
God  to  lie,  we  might  have  strong  consolation,  who  have 
fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  of  the  hope  set  before  us  in 
the  gospel."  Heb.  vi.  18.  Thus  faith  includes  trust. 
Trust  rests  upon  the  divine  truth  of  the  promises,  and 

*  Council  of  Trent,  Sess.  vi.,  ch.  ix. 


S2G  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

in  turn  supports  hope.  And  the  fulness  of  hope  is  assu 
ranee.  This  assurance  rests  (2)  upon  the  inward  evi- 
dence of  those  graces  unto  which  the  promises  are  made. 
Thus  the  Scriptures  promise  that  whosoever  believes 
shall  have  everlasting  life.  The  believer  whose  faith  is 
vigorous  and  intelligent  has  a  distinct  evidence  in  his 
own  consciousness  that  he  for  one  does  believe.  Hence 
the  conclusion  is  obvious  that  he  shall  have  everlasting 
life.  The  same  promise  is  given  to  all  who  love  God, 
to  all  who  love  the  brethren,  to  all  who  keep  his  com- 
mandments, to  the  pure  in  heart,  to  those  who  hunger 
and  thirst  after  righteousness,  etc.  Hence  when  these 
graces  are  possessed  in  such  a  degree,  strength  and 
purity  that  we  are  conscious  of  their  genuineness,  then 
the  conclusion  is  immediate  and  irresistible  that  we  are 
in  union  with  Christ  and  have  a  right  to  appropriate 
the  promises  to  ourselves.  This  assurance  rests  (3) 
upon  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  witnessing 
with  our  spirits  that  we  are  the  children  of  God.  This 
language  is  taken  from  Rom.  viii.  16.  The  sense  in 
which  this  witnessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  our  spirits 
is  to  be  understood  has  been  much  debated  among 
theologians. 

Some  have  maintained  that  the  passage  teaches  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  some  mysterious  way  directly  reveals 
to  our  spirits  the  fact  that  we  are  the  children  of  God, 
as  one  man  immediately  conveys  information  to  another 
man.  The  objections  to  this  view  are,  that  Christians 
are  not  and  cannot  be  conscious  of  any  such  injection  of 
information  from  without  into  the  mind,  and  that,  as  far 
as  such  testimony  alone  is  concerned,  we  would  be  un- 
able to  distinguish  certainly  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit 


ASSURANCE   OF   GRACE   AND   SALVATION.        327 

from  the  conclusions  of  our  own  reasons  or  the  sugges- 
tions of  our  own  hearts.  An  expectation  of  such  direct 
communications  would  be  likely  to  generate  enthusiasm 
and  presumption.  Some  have  maintained,  on  the  oppo- 
site extreme,  that  the  Spirit  witnesses  with  our  spirits 
only  indirectly  through  the  evidence  aiforded  by  the 
graces  he  has  formed  within  us.  The  true  view  appeal's 
to  be  that  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  to  our  spirits  that 
we  are  the  children  of  God  comprehends  a  number  of 
particulars,  all  of  which  are  combined  by  the  Spirit  to 
this  end:  (1.)  The  Spirit  is  the  Author  of  the  promises 
of  Scripture,  and  of  the  marks  of  character  indicating 
the  persons  to  which  the  promises  belong.  (2.)  The 
Spirit  is  the  Author  of  the  graces  of  the  saints,  corre- 
sponding to  the  marks  of  character  which  are  associated 
with  these  promises  in  the  Scripture.  (3.)  The  Spirit 
gives  to  the  true  believer,  especially  to  the  Christian 
eminent  for  diligence  and  faithfulness,  the  grace  of 
spiritual  illumination,  that  he  may  possess  a  keen  insight 
into  his  own  character,  that  he  may  judge  truly  of  the 
genuineness  of  his  own  gi  aces,  that  he  may  rightly  inter- 
pret the  promises  and  the  characters  to  which  they  are 
limited  in  the  Scriptures ;  so  that,  comparing  the  out- 
ward standard  with  the  inward  experience,  he  may  draw 
correct  and  unquestionable  conclusions.  (4.)  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  the  direct  Author  of  faith  in  all  its  degrees,  as 
also  of  love  and  hope.  Full  assurance,  therefore,  which 
is  the  fulness  of  hope  resting  on  the  fulness  of  faith,  is 
a  state  of  mind  which  it  is  the  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  induce  in  our  minds  in  connection  with  the  evidence 
of  our  gracious  character  above  stated.  In  whatever 
way  he  works  in  us  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good 


328  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

pleasure,  or  sheds  abroad  the  love  of  God  in  our  hearts 
(Rom.  v.  5),  or  begets  us  again  to  a  lively  hope,  ic 
that  way  he  gives  origin  to  the  grace  of  full  assurance — ■ 
not  as  a  blind  and  fortuitous  feeling,  but  as  a  legitimate 
and  undoubting  conclusion  from  appropriate  evidence. 
(5.)  The  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  first  instal- 
ment of  the  benefits  of  Christ's  redemption,  granted  to 
those  for  whom  they  were  purchased,  and  therefore  the 
pledge  and  earnest  of  the  completion  of  that  redemption 
in  due  time.  Thus  Paul  says  of  the  Ephesians,  "  In 
whom  also  (Christ),  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were 
sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the 
earnest  of  our  inheritance,  until  the  redemption  of  the 
purchased  possession."  Eph.  i.  13,  14;  iv.  30;  1  John 
ii.  20,  27 ;  2  Cor.  i.  22 ;  v.  5.* 

Section  TIL — This  infallible  assurance  doth  not  so  belong  to 
the  essence  of  faith,  but  that  a  true  believer  may  wait  long,  and 
conflict  with  many  difficulties,  before  he  be  partaker  of  it:10  yet, 
being  enabled  by  the  Spirit  to  know  the  things  which  are  freely 
given  him  of  God,  he  may,  without  extraordinary  revelation,  in 
the  right  use  of  ordinary  means,  attain  thereunto.11  And,  there- 
fore, it  is  the  duty  of  every  one  to  give  all  diligence  to  make  his 
calling  and  election  sure;12  that  thereby  his  heart  maybe  enlarged 
in  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  love  and  thankfulness  to 
God,  and  in  strength  and  cheerfulness  in  the  duties  of  obedi- 
ence,13 the  proper  fruits  of  this  assurance :  so  far  is  it  from  in- 
clining men  to  looseness.14 

Section  IV. — True  believers  may  have  the  assurance  of  their 
salvation  in  divers  ways  shaken,  diminished  and  intermitted;  as, 
by  negligence  in  preserving  of  it;  by  falling  into  some  special 
sin,  which  woundeth  the  conscience  and  grieveth  the  Spirit ;  by 
some  sudden  or  vehement  temptation;  by  God's  withdrawing  the 
'ight  of  his  countenance,  and  suffering  even  such  as  fear  him  to 

*  See  Chalmers'  Lee.  on  Rom.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  64-68. 


ASSURANCE   OP    GRACE   AND    SALVATION.        329 

walk  in  darkness,  and  to  have  no  light;15  yet  are  they  never 
utterly  destitute  of  that  seed  of  God,  and  life  of  faith,  that  love 
of  Christ  and  the  brethren,  that  sincerity  of  heart  and  conscience 
of  duty,  out  of  which,  by  the  operation  of  the  Spirit,  this  assur- 
ance may  in  due  time  be  revived,16  and  by  the  which,  in  the  mean- 
time, they  are  supported  from  utter  despair.17 

10  1  John  v.  13;  Isa.  I.  10;  Mark  ix.  24;  Ps.  lxxxviii.;  lxxvii.  1-12.— " 
1  Cor.  ii.  12;  1  John  iv.  13;  Heb.  vi.  11,  12  ;  Eph.  iii.  17-19.— «  2  Pet.  i. 
10.— 13  Rom.  v.  1,2,  5;  xiv.  17;  xv.  13;  Eph.  i.  3,  4;  Ps.  iv.  6,  7;  cxix. 
32.— «  1  John  ii.  1,  2 ;  Rom.  vi.  1,  2 ;  Tit.  ii.  11,  12, 14;  2  Cor.  vii.  1 ;  Rom. 
viii.  1,  12;  1  John  iii.  2,  3;  Ps.  cxxx.  4;  1  John  i.  6,  7.— 15  Cant.  v.  2,  3, 
6;  Ps.  Ii.  8,  12,  14;  Eph.  iv.  30,  31;  Ps.  lxxvii.  1-10;  Matt.  xxvi.  69-72; 
Ps.  xxxi.  22;  lxxxviii. ;  Isa.  1.  10— 16  1  John  iii.  9;  Luke  xxii.  32;  Job 
xiii.  15;  Ps.  Ixxiii.  15;  li.  8,  12;  Isa.  1.  10. — !?  Mic.  vii.  7-9;  Jer.  xxxii. 
40;  Isa.  liv.  7-10;  Ps.  xxii.  1;  lxxxviii. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  That  this  infallible  assurance  is  not  of  the  essence 
of  faith — that  on  the  contrary  a  man  may  be  a  true  be- 
liever and  yet  destitute  of  this  assurance. 

2d.  That  being,  nevertheless,  as  taught  in  the  preced- 
ing Sections,  attainable  in  this  life  in  the  use  of  ordinary 
means,  without  extraordinary  revelation,  it  is  conse- 
quently the  duty  of  every  one  to  give  all  diligence  to 
make  his  calling  and  election  sure,  because  this  assur- 
ance, instead  of  inclining  men  to  negligence,  tends 
properly  to  increase  (a)  spiritual  peace  and  joy,  (6)  love 
and  thankfulness  to  God,  and  (c)  strength  and  cheerful- 
ness in  the  works  of  obedience. 

3d.  True  believers  after  having  attained  this  assur- 
ance may  have  it  shaken,  diminished  and  intermitted, 
the  cause  or  occasions  of  which  are  such  as — (a)  negli- 
gence in  preserving  this  grace  in  full  exercise;  (b)  falling 
into  some  special  sin  ,  (c)  some  sudden  and  vehement 
temptations;  (d)  God's  temporary  withdrawing  of  the 
light  of  his  countenance. 


330  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

4th.  Nevertheless,  since,  as  was  shown  under  lapter 
xvii.,  no  true  believer  is  ever  permitted  totally  o  fall 
away  from  grace,  he  is  never  left  entirely  with  ut  any 
token  of  God's  favour,  and,  the  root  of  faith  rem  ning, 
this  assurance  may  in  due  time  be  revived. 

1st.  That  this  infallible  assurance  is  not  of  the  essence 
of  saving  faith  is  affirmed  over  and  over  again  i     our 
Standards,  and  is  true.     Assurance,  in  one  degree  or  an- 
other of  it,  is  of  the  essence  of  faith,  because  jus'   in 
proportion  to  the  strength  of  our  faith  is  our  assur 
of  the  truth  of  that  which  we  believe.     But  since 
faith  exists   in  very  various  degrees  of  strength, 
since  its  exercises  are  sometimes  intermitted,  it  foil     /s 
that  the  assurance  which  accompanies  true  faith  is  not 
always  a  full  assurance.* 

Besides  this,  the  phrase  "  full  or  infallible  assurance," 
in  this  Chapter,  does  not  relate  to  the  certainty  of  our 
faith  or  trust  as  to  the  truth  of  the  object  upon  which 
the  faith  rests — that  is,  the  divine  promise  of  salvation 
in  Christ — but  to  the  certainty  of  our  hope  or  belief  as 
to  our  own  personal  relation  to  Christ  and  eternal  sal- 
vation. Hence  it  follows  that  while  assurance,  in  some 
degree  of  it,  does  belong  to  the  essence  of  all  real  faith 
in  the  sufficiency  of  Christ  and  the  truth  of  the  prom- 
ises, it  is  not  in  any  degree  essential  to  a  genuine  faith 
that  the  believer  should  be  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  his 
own  experience  and  the  safety  of  his  estate.  Theolo- 
gians consequently  have  distinguished  between  the  as- 
surance of  faith  (Heb.  x.  22) — that  is,  a  strong  faith  as 
to  the  truth  of  Christ — and  the  assurance  of  hope  (Heb. 
vi.  11) — that  is,  a  certain  persuasion  that  we  are  tru<»  bft- 
*  Conf.  Faith,  ch.  xiv.  §  3;  L.  Cat.,  Q.  8L. 


AB'TJEANCE   OF   GKACE   AND   SALVATION.        331 

lie  vera!1"  nd  therefore  safe.  This  latter  is  also  called 
the  assli^ance  of  sense,  because  it  rests  upon  the  inward 
sense  ttJ-^  soul  has  of  the  reality  of  its  own  spiritual  ex- 
periences. The  first  is  of  the  essence  of  faith,  and  ter- 
minate directly  upon  Christ  and  his  promise,  and  hence 
is  called  the  direct  act  of  faith.  The  latter  is  not  of  the 
essena:'  of  faith,  but  its  fruit,  and  is  called  the  reflex 
act  of  faith,  because  it  is  drawn  as  an  inference  from  the 
exp'Mence  of  the  graces  of  the  Spirit  which  the  soul 
urns  when  it  reflects  upon  its  own  consciousness. 
says  that  whosoever  believes  is  saved — That  is  the 
o  Bt  of  direct  faith.  I  believe — That  is  the  matter  of 
cos  scions  experience.  Therefore  I  am  saved — That  is 
the  matter  of  inference  and  the  essence  of  full  assur- 
ance.* 

That  this  full  assurance  of  our  own  gracious  state  is 
not  of  the  essence  of  saving  faith  is  proved — (1.)  From 
the  form  in  which  the  offer  of  salvation  in  Christ,  which 
is  the  object  of  saving  faith,  is  set  forth  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. "  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved ;"  "Whosoever  will,  let  him  come;" 
"  Whosoever  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
The  matter  revealed,  and  therefore  the  truth  accepted 
by  faith,  is  not  that  God  is  reconciled  to  me  in  Christ, 
but  that  Christ  is  presented  to  me  as  the  foundation  of 
truth,  and  will  save  me  if  I  do  truly  trust.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  trust  itself  is  something  different  from  the 
certainty  that  we  do  trust,  and  that  our  trust  is  of  the 
right  kind.  (2.)  All  the  promises  of  the  Bible  are 
made  to  classes — to  believers,  to  saints,  etc. — and  not  to 

*  Dr.  William  Cunningham's  Keformers  and  Theology  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, Essay  iii. 


332  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

individuals.  (3.)  Paul  appeared  to  doubt  as  tc  the 
genuineness  of  his  faith  long  after  he  was  a  true  be- 
liever. (4.)  As  we  saw  above,  the  Bible  contains  many 
exhortations  addressed  to  believers  to  go  on  to  the  grace 
of  full  assurance,  as  something  beyond  their  present  at- 
tainments. Heb.  vi.  11 ;  2  Pet,  i.  10.  (5.)  The  expe- 
rience of  the  great  body  of  God's  people  in  modern 
times  proves  the  same  thing. 

2d.  Since  this  infallible  assurance  is  not  of  the  essence 
of  faith,  but  its  fruit,  and  one  of  the  highest  attain- 
ments of  the  divine  life,  and  since  it  may  be  attained  in 
this  life  in  the  use  of  ordinary  means,  without  extraor- 
dinary revelation,  it  follows  necessarily  that  its  attain- 
ment is  a  duty  as  well  as  a  grace,  that  all  that  leads  to 
it  should  be  diligently  sought,  and  that  all  that  prevents 
it  should  be  carefully  avoided.  Genuine  assurance  can- 
not lead  to  looseness  and  indifference  in  the  cultivation 
of  grace  and  the  performance  of  religious  duties,  since 
its  very  existence  depends  (a)  upon  the  evidence  afforded 
by  diligence  in  those  duties,  and  by  the  strength  of  those 
graces,  that  we  are  true  believers,  and  (b)  upon  the  ap- 
proving witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  As  we  have  seen 
above,  under  Sections  i.  and  ii.,  a  false  and  presumptuous 
assurance  is  to  be  discriminated  from  a  genuine  assur- 
ance by  certain  clear,  practical  marks.  On  the  contrary, 
genuine  assurance  naturally  leads  to  a  legitimate  and 
abiding  peace  and  joy,  and  to  love  and  thankfulness  to 
God,  and  these,  from  the  very  laws  of  our  being,  to 
greater  buoyancy,  strength  and  chterfulness  in  the  prac- 
tice of  obedience  in  every  department  of  duty.  It  hence 
follows  that  every  principle  of  self-interest  and  every 
obligation  resting   upon   us    as   Christians    conspire  to 


induce  us  to  use  all  diligence  in  seeking  the  full  attain- 
ment and  the  abiding  enjoyment  of  this  grace. 

3d.  Since  this  assurance  rests  upon  the  consciousness 
of  gracious  experiences  and  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and,  as  we  have  seen  under  Chapters  xiii.  and 
xvii.,  that  true  Christians  may  temporarily,  though 
never  totally,  fall  from  the  exercise  of  grace,  and  since 
these  exercises  in  this  life  are  never  perfect  and  unmixed 
with  carnal  elements,  it  necessarily  follows  that  the  as- 
surance which  rests  upon  them  must  be  subject  to  be 
shaken,  diminished  and  intermitted  in  divers  ways. 
(a.)  Since  it  is  a  duty  as  well  as  a  grace,  it  must  be  im- 
perilled by  any  want  of  diligence  in  preserving  it  in  full 
exercise.  (6.)  Since  it  rests  upon  the  consciousness  of 
gracious  exercises,  it  must  be  marred,  if  not  intermitted, 
by  any  notable  fall  into  sin  which  grieves  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  wounds  the  conscience,  thus  clouding  the  sense  of  for- 
giveness and  diminishing  the  evidence  of  grace,  (c.)  The 
same  may  evidently  be  effected  by  some  vehement  temp- 
tation, (d.)  The  same  effect  may  be  produced  by  God's 
withdrawing  the  light  of  his  countenance,  in  the  way 
of  fatherly  discipline,  for  the  purpose  of  trying  our 
faith  and  convincing  us  of  our  entire  dependence  and 
of  the  all-sufficiency  of  his  gracious  help. 

4th.  Since  the  true  believer  may  fall  into  sin,  but 
may  never  fall  totally  from  grace,  it  is  self-evident,  as 
taught  in  these  Sections,  that  he  may  lose  the  exercise 
of  full  assurance,  but  that  he  cannot  lose  the  principle 
from  which  it  springs ;  and  that  hence,  through  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  the  diligent  use  of  the  appropriate 
means,  it  may  be  strengthened  when  weakened,  and  re- 
covered when  lost. 


334  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  Sections  i.  and  ii.  ? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  third  f 

4.  What  reason  have  we  for  believing  that  a  spurious  assurance 
is  possible  to  the  unregenerated  ? 

5.  By  what  tests  may  spurious  be  distinguished  from  genuine 
assurance  ? 

6.  What  is  the  degree  of  assurance  attainable  ? 

7.  How  can  you  prove  that  such  an  infallible  assurance  may  be 
attained? 

8.  What  was  the  experience  and  what  the  position  of  the  Pro- 
testant Reformers  on  this  point? 

9.  What  position  was  maintained  by  their  Romish  antagonists? 

10.  What  is  the  ./w^-mentioned  ground  upon  which  this  as- 
surance rests? 

11.  Show  how  it  results  from  the  divine  truth  of  the  promises 
of  salvation. 

12.  What  is  the  second  ground  mentioned? 

13.  Show  how  it  springs  fisom  the  inward  evidence  of  grace. 

14.  What  is  the  third  ground  mentioned? 

15.  What  different  opinions  have  been  entertained  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  witness  borne  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  our  spirits? 

16.  State  all  the  ways  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  bears  witness 
with  our  spirits. 

17.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  Sections  iii.  and  iv.  ? 

18.  What  is  the  second  there  taught? 

19.  What  is  the  third? 

20.  What  is  the  fourth  f 

21.  In  what  sense  does  some  degree  of  assurance  belong  to  the 
very  essence  of  faith  ? 

22.  To  what  subject  does  the  assurance  spoken  of  in  this 
Chapter  relate? 

23.  Explain  the  distinction  between  the  assurance  of  faith  and 
the  assurance  of  hope. 

24.  Why  is  the  latter  called  also  the  assurance  of  sense  ? 


ASSURANCE   OF   GRACE   AND   SALVATION.         335 

25.  Why  is  it  called  also  the  reflex  act  of  faitli  ? 

26.  Prove  that  this  full  assurance  of  our  own  gracious  state  is 
not  of  the  essence  of  saving  faith. 

27.  Show  that  the  attainment  of  this  assurance  is  a  duty  as 
well  as  a  grace. 

28.  Show  that  genuine  assurance  cannot  lead  to  spiritual  sloth- 
fulness  or  neglect  of  duty. 

29.  Show,  on  the  contrary,  why  its  exercise  must  lead  to  joy, 
gratitude  and  diligence. 

30.  State  the  various  ways  whereby  this  assurance  may  be 
diminished  or  lost. 

31-  Show  why  it  can  never  be  lost  beyond  recovery. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

OF   THE   LAW   OF   GOD. 

Section  1. — God  gave  to  Adam  a  law,  as  a  covenant  of  works, 
by  which  he  bound  him,  and  all  his  posterity,  to  personal,  entire, 
exact  and  perpetual  obedience  ;  promised  life  upon  the  fulfilling, 
and  threatened  death  upon  the  breach  of  it ;  and  endued  him 
with  power  and  ability  to  keep  it.1 

Section  II. — This  law,  after  his  fall,  continued  to  be  a  perfect 
rule  of  righteousness ;  and,  as  such,  was  delivered  by  God  upon 
Mount  Sinai  in  ten  commandments,  and  written  in  two  tables  ;* 
the  first  four  commandments  containing  our  duty  toward  God, 
and  the  other  six  our  duty  to  man.8 

*Gen.  i.  26,  27;  ii.  17;  Rom.  ii.  14,  15;  x.  5;  v.  12,  19;  QtA.  iii.  10,  12; 
Flccles.  vii.  29  ;  Job  xxviii.  28. — 2  James  i.  25  ;  ii.  8, 10-12 ;  Rom.  xiii.  8,  9 ; 
Deut.  v.  32;  x.  4;  Ex.  xxxiv.  1.— 3  Matt.  xxii.  37-40. 

These  Sections  teach  the  following  propositions : 
1st.  That  God,  as  the  supreme  moral  Governor  of 
the  universe,  introduced  the  human  race  into  existence 
as  an  order  of  moral  creatures,  under  inalienable  and 
perpetual  subjection  to  an  all- perfect  moral  law,  which 
in  all  the  elements  thereof  binds  man's  conscience  and 
requires  perfect  obedience. 

2d.  That  God,  as  the  Guardian  of  the  human  race, 
entered  into  a  special  covenant  with  Adam,  as  the  nat- 
ural head  of  the  race,  constituting  him  also  the  federal 
head  of  all  mankind,  and  requiring  from  him,  during  a 
period  of  probation,  perfect  obedience  to  the  law  above 

336 


THE   LAW    OS    GOD.  337 

named,  promising  to  him  and  to  his  descendants  in  him 
confirmation  in  holiness  and  eternal  felicity  as  the  reward 
of  obedience,  and  threatening  both  his  wrath  and  curse 
as  the  punishment  of  disobedience. 

3d.  This  law  after  the  fell,  and  the  introduction  of 
the  dispensation  of  salvation  through  the  Messiah,  while 
it  ceased  to  offer  salvation  on  the  ground  of  obedience, 
nevertheless  continued  to  be  the  revealed  expression  of 
God's  will,  binding  all  human  consciences  as  the  rule 
of  life. 

4th.  That  this  moral  law  has  for  our  instruction  been 
summarily  comprehended,  as  to  its  general  principles, 
in  their  application  to  the  main  relations  men  sustain  to 
God  and  to  each  other,  in  the  Ten  Commandments, 
"  which  were  delivered  by  the  voice  of  God  upon  Mount 
Sinai,  and  written  by  him  on  two  tables  of  stone;  and 
are  recorded  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Exodus.  The 
first  four  Commandments  containing  our  duty  to  God, 
and  the  other  six  our  duty  to  man."  L.  Cat.,  Q.  98. 

1st.  God  introduced  man  at  his  creation  as  a  moral 
agent  under  inalienable  and  perpetual  subjection  to  an 
all-perfect  moral  law,  which  binds  his  conscience  and 
requires  perfect  obedience.  This  follows  self-evident ly 
and  necessarily  from  the  very  nature  of  God  as  a  moral 
Governor,  and  from  the  nature  of  man  as  a  moral  agent. 

Of  this  law  we  remark — (1)  that  it  has  its  ground  in 
the  all-perfect  and  unchangeable  moral  nature  of  God. 
When  we  affirm  that  God  is  holy,  we  do  not  mean  that 
he  makes  right  to  be  right  by  simply  willing  it,  but 
that  he  wills  it  because  it  is  right.  There  must  there- 
fore be  some  absolute  standard  of  righteousness.  This 
absolute  standard  of  righteousness  is  the  divine  nature. 

22 


338  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

The  infallible  judge  of  righteousness  is  the  divine  intel- 
ligence. The  all-perfect  executor  and  rule  of  righteous- 
ness among  the  creatures  is  the  divine  will.  The  form 
of  our  duties  springs  from  our  various  relations  to  God 
and  to  man.  But  the  invariable  principle  upon  which 
all  duty  is  grounded,  and  which  gives  it  its  binding 
moral  obligation,  is  rooted  in  the  changeless  nature  of 
God,  of  which  his  will  is  the  outward  expression.  All 
the  divine  laws  belong  to  one  or  other  of  four  classes. 
They  are  either — 

(a.)  Such  as  are  grounded  directly  in  the  perfections 
of  the  divine  nature,  and  are  hence  absolutely  immutable 
and  irrepealable  even  by  God  himself.  These  are  such 
as  the  duty  of  love  and  obedience  to  God,  and  of  love 
and  truth  in  our  relations  to  our  fellow-creatures. 

(6.)  Such  as  have  their  immediate  ground  in  the  per- 
manent nature  and  relations  of  men,  as,  for  instance,  the 
laws  which  protect  the  rights  of  property  and  regulate 
the  relation  of  the  sexes.  These  continue  unchanged  as 
long  as  the  present  constitution  of  nature  continues,  and 
are  of  universal  binding  obligation,  alike  because  of  their 
natural  propriety  as  because  of  the  will  of  God  by  which 
they  are  enforced;  although  God,  who  is  the  Author  of 
nature,  may  in  special  instances  waive  the  application 
of  the  law  at  his  pleasure,  as  he  did  in  the  case  of  po- 
lygamy among  the  ancient  Jews. 

(c.)  Such  as  have  their  immediate  ground  in  the 
changing  relations  of  individuals  and  communities.  Of 
this  class  is  the  great  mass  of  the  civil  and  judicial 
laws  of  the  ancient  Jews,  which  express  the  will  of  God 
for  them  in  their  peculiar  circumstances,  and  which 
of  course  are  intended  to  be  binding  only  so  long  as 


THE   LAW   OF    GOD.  339 

the  special  conditions  to  which  they  are  appropriate 
exist. 

(d.)  Such  as  depend  altogether  for  their  binding  obli- 
gation upon  the  positive  command  of  God,  which  are 
neither  universal  nor  perpetual,  but  bind  those  persons 
only  to  whom  God  has  addressed  them,  and  only  so  long 
as  the  positive  enactment  endures.  This  class  includes 
all  rites  and  ceremonies,  etc. 

(2.)  We  remark  in  the  second  place  that  this  moral 
law,  at  least  in  its  essential  principles,  and  as  far  as  was 
necessary  for  the  guidance  of  men  in  a  state  of  innocency, 
was  revealed  in  the  very  constitution  of  man's  nature; 
and  although  it  has  been  greatly  obscured  by  sin,  it 
remains  sufficiently  clear  to  render  even  the  heathen 
without  excuse.  This  is  certain  (a)  because  it  is  asserted 
and  argued  by  Paul  (Rom.  i.  10,  20;  ii.  14,  15),  (6) 
from  the  fact  that  all  heathen  do  possess  and  act  upon 
such  an  innate  sense  of  right  and  of  moral  account- 
ability, although  they  may  in  various  degrees  be  ignorant 
of  specific  moral  duties.  This  moral  law  written  upon 
the  heart  was  part  of  Adam's  original  endowment  when 
lie  was  created,  as  we  saw  under  Chapter  iv.,  §  2. 

(3.)  We  remark  that  the  revelation  of  this  moral  law 
of  God  made  in  the  human  constitution,  however  suffi- 
cient it  may  have  been  for  the  guidance  of  man  before 
he  fell  in  the  natural  relations  hp  sustained  to  his  Creator, 
is  under  his  present  circumstances  altogether  insufficient, 
as  we  saw  under  Chapter  i.,  §  1.  Hence  God  has  been 
pleased  to  make  a  more  full  and  explicit  revelation  of 
his  law  to  man  in  the  inspired  Scriptures  taken  as  a 
whole,  which  is  the  only  and  the  all-sufficient  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  as  we  saw  under  Chapter  i. 


340  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

(4.}  We  remark  in  the  fourth  place  that  the  Scriptures 
being  the  only  and  a  complete  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 
whatever  is  revealed  therein  as  the  will  of  God  is 
part  of  the  moral  law  for  Christian  men,  and  whatever 
is  not*  revealed  therein  as  his  will,  either  directly  or  by 
necessary  implication,  is  no  part  of  our  moral  obligation 
at  all.     See  Chapter  xvi.,  §§  1  and  2. 

2d.  That  God  introduced  Adam,  as  the  head  and 
representative  of  the  whole  human  family,  at  his  crea- 
tion, into  a  covenant  relation  to  the  law,  making  perfect 
obedience  to  it  for  a  probationary  period  the  condition 
of  his  character  and  destiny  for  ever,  we  have  already 
discussed,  Chapter  vii.,  §§  1  and  2.  After  the  fall  of 
Adam,  both  he  and  all  his  race  became  incapable  of 
satisfying  that  covenant  themselves,  and  it  pleased  God 
to  send  forth  his  Son,  made  under  the  law,  being  born 
of  a  woman,  to  fulfil  as  the  second  Adam  all  the  re- 
quirements of  the  legal  covenant  in  behalf  of  his  elect, 
and  to  secure  for  them  all  its  benefits,  as  we  saw  under 
Chapter  viii. 

3d.  While  the  law  in  its  relation  of  a  covenant  of 
works  has  been  fulfilled  by  our  Surety,  so  that  they 
who  are  under  grace  are  no  more  under  the  law  in  that 
capacity  (Rom.  vi.  14),  nevertheless  the  law  as  a  rule 
of  action  and  standard  of  character  is  immutable,  unre- 
laxable  and  inalienable  in  its  personal  relations.  Christ 
fulfilled  the  law  for  us  vicariously  as  the  condition  of 
salvation,  and  on  that  basis  we  are  justified.  But  no 
one  can  be  vicariously  conformed  to  the  law  for  us  as  a 
rule  of  conduct  or  of  moral  character.  Therefore  while 
Christ  fulfilled  the  law  for  us,  the  Holy  Spirit  fulfils 
the  law  in  us,  by  sanctifying  us  into  complete  conformity 


THE   LAW   OF   GOD.  341 

to  it.  And  in  obedience  to  this  law  the  believer  brings 
forth  those  good  works  which  are  the  fruits  though  not 
the  ground  of  our  salvation. 

4th.  That  this  moral  law  has  been  summarily  com- 
prehended in  the  two  tables  of  the  law,  called  the  Ton 
Commandments,  is  a  fact  not  disputed.  By  this  it  is 
not  meant  that  every  duty  which  God  now  requires  of 
Christian  men  may  be  directly  derived  from  the  deca- 
logue, but  that  the  general  principles  of  the  infinite  law 
of  moral  perfection,  as  adjusted  to  the  general  relations 
sustained  by  men  to  God  and  to  one  another,  may  be 
found  there.     This  is  certain,  because — 

(1.)  The  two  tables  of  the  law  were  placed  under  the 
mercy-seat,  which  was  God's  throne,  and  were  called  the 
testimonies  of  God  against  the  sins  of  the  people ;  and 
over  them,  upon  the  "covering"  or  mercy-seat,  the  high 
priest  sprinkled  the  blood  of  the  sin-offering.  Ex.  xxx. 
6;  xxxi.  18;  Lev.  xvi.  14,  15.  They  therefore  repre- 
sented that  all-perfect  law  of  righteousness  which  is  the 
foundation  of  God's  throne,  and  which  is  the  testimony 
of  God  against  human  sin,  and  which  is  propitiated  by 
the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ. 

(2.)  The  Ten  Commandments  teach  love  to  God  and 
to  man,  and  on  these,  the  Saviour  said,  hang  all  the  law 
and  the  prophets.  Matt.  xxii.  37-40. 

(3.)  Christ  said,  that  if  a  man  keep  this  law  he  shall 
live.  Luke  x.  25-28. 

(4.)  Every  specific  duty  taught  in  any  portion  of  the 
Scriptures  may  more  or  less  directly  be  referred  to  one 
or  other  of  the  general  precepts  taught  in  the  Decalogue. 

These  commandments  were  originally  written  by  the 
finger  of  God  himself  on  two  tables  of  stone.    The  first 


342  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

four  relate  to  the  duties  man  owes  to  God,  and  the  re- 
maining six  relate  to  the  duties  we  owe  to  our  fellow- 
men.  The  Romish  Church  assigns  only  three  com- 
mandments to  the  first  table  and  seven  to  the  second. 
She  unites  the  First  and  Second  Commandments  together, 
in  order  to  make  it  appear  that  only  the  worship  of 
false  gods  and  images  of  them  are  forbidden,  while  the 
images  of  the  true  God  and  of  saints  are  not  excluded 
from  the  instruments  of  worship;  and  in  order  to  keep 
up  the  number,  she  divides  the  Tenth  into  two — making 
the  first  clause  the  Ninth  Commandment,  and  the  re- 
maining clauses  the  Tenth. 

The  great  rule  for  interpreting  the  Decalogue  is  to 
keep  constantly  in  mind  that  it  is  the  law  of  God  and 
not  the  law  of  man — that  it  respects  and  requires  the 
conformity  of  the  governing  affections  and  dispositions 
of  the  heart  as  well  as  the  outward  actions.  Every 
commandment  involves  a  general  moral  principle,  appli- 
cable to  a  wide  variety  of  particular  conditions,  respect- 
ing the  motives  and  ends  of  action,  as  well  as  action 
itself.  The  rules  of  interpretation  laid  down  in  the 
L.  Cat.,  Q.  99,  are  in  substance  as  follows :     . 

(1.)  The  law  is  perfect,  requiring  perfect  obedience, 
and  condemning  the  least  shortcoming  as  sin. 

(2.)  It  is  spiritual,  respecting  thoughts,  feelings, 
motives  and  inward  states  of  hearts,  as  well  as  actions. 

(3.)  That  every  command  implies  a  corresponding 
prohibition,  and  every  prohibition  a  corresponding  com- 
mand; and  every  promise  a  corresponding  threatening, 
and  every  threatening  a  corresponding  promise. 

(4.)  That  under  one  sin  or  duty  all  of  the  same  kind 
are   forbidden    or   commanded,  together  with  all  that 


THE   LAW    OF   GOD.  343 

directly   or   indirectly,  are  the  causes   or   occasions  of 
them. 

(5.)  That  we  are  not  only  bound  to  fulfil  the  law 
ourselves,  but  also  to  help  others  to  do  so  as  far  as  we 
can. 

Section  III. — Besides  this  law,  commonly  called  moral,  God 
was  pleased  to  give  to  the  people  of  Israel,  as  a  Church  under  age, 
ceremonial  laws,  containing  several  typical  ordinances:  partly 
of  worship,  prefiguring  Christ,  his  graces,  actions,  sufferings  and 
benefits  ;4  and  partly  holding  forth  divers  instructions  of  moral 
duties.6  All  which  ceremonial  laws  are  now  abrogated  under  the 
New  Testament.6 

Section  IV. — To  them,  also,  as  a  body  politic,  he  gave  sundry 
judicial  laws,  which  expired  together  with  the  state  of  that  peo- 
ple, not  obliging  any  other  now,  further  than  the  general  equity 
thereof  may  require.7 

Section  V. — The  moral  law  doth  for  ever  bind  all,  as  well 
justified  persons  as  others,  to  the  obedience  thereof;8  and  that 
not  only  in  regard  of  the  matter  contained  in  it,  but  also  in  respect 
of  the  authority  of  God,  the  Creator,  who  gave  it.9  Neither  doth 
Christ  in  the  gospel  any  way  dissolve,  but  much  strengthen  this 
obligation.10 

4  Heb.  ix.  ;  x.  1 ;  Gal.  iv.  1-3  :  Col.  ii.  17.— 5  1  Cor.  v.  7  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  17  ; 
Jude  23.-6  Col.  ii.  14,  16,  17;  Dan.  ix.  27;  Eph.  ii.  15,  16.—'  Ex.  xxi. ; 
xxii.  1-29  ;  Gen.  xlix.  10;  1  Pet.  ii.  13,  14;  Matt.  v.  17,  38,  39;  1  Cor.  ix. 
8-10.— 8  Rom.  xiii.  8-10;  Eph.  vi.  2;  1  John  ii.  3,  4,  7,  8.-9  James  ii.  10, 
ll.—10  Matt.  v.  17-19;  James  ii.  8;  Rom.  iii.  31. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  That  besides  the  moral  law  summarily  expressed 
in  the  Decalogue,  God  gave  the  Jews  a  ceremonial  law, 
wherein,  by  means  of  types  and  symbols,  (a)  Christ  and 
his  work  were  set  forth,  and  (6)  certain  moral  truths  in- 
culcated. 

2d.  That  he  also  gave  to  them  as  a  body  politic  a 
system  of  judicial  laws. 


344  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

3d.  That  both  the  ceremonial  and  judicial  la\^  of  the 
Jews  have  ceased  to  have  any  binding  force  under  the 
Christian  economy. 

4th.  That  on  the  other  hand  the  moral  law  continues 
of  unabated  authority,  not  only  because  its  elements  are 
intrinsically  binding,  but  because,  also,  of  the  authority 
of  God,  who  still  continues  to  enforce  it.  And  Christ, 
instead  of  lessening,  has  greatly  increased  the  obligation 
to  fulfil  it. 

We  have  already  stated,  under  the  preceding  Sections 
of  this  Chapter,  the  principles  which  distinguish  the 
different  classes  of  divine  commands. 

Those  commands  which  have  their  ground  or  reason 
either  in  the  essential  principles  of  the  divine  nature  or  in 
the  permanent  constitution  of  things,  of  course  have  not 
been  abrogated  by  the  introduction  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation.    On    the  contrary,  it  was   precisely  the  law 
of  perfect  moral  rectitude  that  Christ  vicariously  ful- 
filled as  our  representative,  and  thus  became  the  end  of  the 
law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  believeth.  Rom. 
x.  4.     Christ  also  redeemed  his  people  from    iniquity, 
that  they  might  be  zealous  of  good  works  (Tit.  ii.  4); 
and  we  have  seen  under  Chapter  xviii.  that  those  only 
are  ^ood  works  which  are  done  in  obedience  to  the  law. 
By  redemption,   also,  Christ    has    brought    his    people 
under  new  and  higher  obligations  to  obedience;  he  fur- 
nishes new  motives,  and  in  the  graces  of  regeneration 
and    sanctification  he  communicates   to    the    soul    new 
powers  and   encouragements   for    the    same.     Some  of 
these  original  laws,  founded  on  the  constitution  of  things, 
God  was  pleased  under  the  Mosaic  dispensation  to  relax 
to  a  degree,  as  in  the  case  of  marriage  and  divorce;  but 


THE    LAW    OF    GOD.  345 

in  every  case  the  original  law,  instead  of  being  abro- 
gated, has  been  restored  to  its  pristine  breadth  and  au- 
thority by  Christ  and  his  apostles.  The  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  recorded  in  the  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  chapters 
of  Matthew,  is  an  example  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  exalts  and  expands  the  letter  of 
the  law  beyond  any  revelation  of  it  which  had  pre- 
viously been  made. 

The  principles  by  which  we  are  to  determine  what 
element  of  the  law  enacted  under  the  old  dispensation 
is  abrogated,  and  what  element  remains  in  full  force 
under  the  new  dispensation,  are  the  following  :  (1.) 
When  the  continued  obligation  of  any  commandment  is 
asserted  or  practically  recognized  in  the  New  Testament, 
it  is  plain  that  the  change  of  dispensations  has  made  no 
change  in  the  law.  Thus  the  provisions  of  the  moral  law 
are  constantly  recognized  in  the  New  Testament.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  the  enactment  is  explicitly  re- 
pealed, or  its  abrogation  implied  by  what  is  taught  in 
the  New  Tesiament,  the  case  is  also  made  plain.  (2.) 
AVhere  there  is  no  direct  information  upon  the  question 
to  be  gathered  from  the  New  Testament,  a  careful  ex- 
amination of  the  reason  of  the  law  will  afford  us  good 
ground  of  judgment  as  to  its  perpetuity.  If  the  original 
reason  for  its  enactment  is  universal  and  permanent,  and 
the  law  has  never  been  explicitly  repealed,  then  the  law 
anides  in  force.  If  the  reason  of  the  law  is  transient^ 
its  binding  force  is  transient  also. 

The  Mosaic  institute  may  be  viewed  in  three  different 
aspects : 

(1.)  As  a  national  and  political  covenant,  whereby, 
under  his   theocratic  government,  the  Israelites  became 


346  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

the  people  of  Jehovah  and  he  became  their  King,  and 
in  which  the  Church  and  the  State  are  identical. 

(2.)  In  another  aspect  it  was  a  legal  covenant,  because 
the  moral  law,  obedience  to  which  was  the  condition  of 
life  in  the  Adamic  covenant,  was  now  prominently  set 
forth  in  the  Ten  Commandments  and  made  the  basis  of 
the  new  covenant  of  God  with  his  people.  Even  the 
ceremonial  system,  in  its  merely  literal  and  apart  from 
*t3  ceremonial  aspect,  was  a  rule  of  works  :  "  For  cursed 
zvas  he  that  confirmed  not  all  the  words  of  the  law  to 
lo  theoi.''  Deut.  xxvii.  26. 

(3.)  It  contained  also  an  elaborate  system  of  symbols, 
wherein  spiritual  truths  were  significantly  set  forth 
by  outward  visible  signs,  the  vast  majority  of  which 
were  types,  or  prophetic  symbols,  setting  forth  the  per- 
jon  and  work  of  Cbrict  and  the  benefits  of  his  re- 
demption. 

That  the  ceremonial  law  hitivxluced  by  Moses  was 
typical  of  Christ  and  his  woik  is  taught  throughout  the 
New  Testament,  and  especially  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.  They  were  declared  tc  be  a  "shadow  of 
things  to  come,  but  the  body  is  of  Chnsu "  The  taber- 
nacle and  its  services  were  u patterns  of  things  in  the 
heavens,"  and  figures,  antitypes,  of  the  "tvue  tabernacle 
into  which  Christ  has  now  entered  for  us."  Col.  ii.  17  ; 
Heb.  ix.  23,  24.  Christ  is  said  to  have  effected  our 
salvation  by  offering  himself  as  a  sacrifice  and  by  acting 
as  our  High  Priest.  Eph.  v.  2 ;  Heb.  ix.  26,  28 ;  xiii. 
11,  12.  That  the  coming  of  Christ  has  superseded  and 
for  ever  done  away  with  the  ceremonial  law  \s  also  evi- 
dent from  the  very  fact  just  stated — thai'  ihese  were 
types  of  him,  that  they  were  the  shadows  of  wln^h  he 


THE   LAW    OF   GOD.  347 

was  the  substance.  Their  whole  purpose  and  design 
were  evidently  discharged  as  soon  as  his  real  work  of 
satisfaction  was  accomplished;  and  therefore  it  is  not 
only  a  truth  taught  in  Scripture  (Heb.  x.  1-14;  Col.  ii. 
14-17  ;  Eph.  ii.  15,  16),  but  an  undeniable  historical 
fact,  that  the  priestly  work  of  Christ  immediately  and 
definitely  superseded  the  work  of  the  Levitical  priest. 
The  instant  of  Christ's  death,  the  veil  separating  the 
throne  of  God  from  the  approach  of  men  "was  rent  in 
twain  from  top  to  bottom"  (Matt,  xxvii.  50,  51),  thus 
throwing  the  way  open  to  all,  and  dispensing  with 
priests  and  their  ceremonial  for  ever. 

That  the  judicial  laws  of  the  Jews  have  ceased  to 
have  binding  obligation  upon  us  follows  plainly,  from 
the  fact  that  the  peculiar  relations  of  the  people  to  God 
as  theocratic  King,  and  to  one  another  as  fellow-mem- 
bers of  an  Old  Testament  Church  State,  to  which  these 
laws  were  adjusted,  now  no  longer  exist. 

Section  VI. — Although  true  believers  be  not  under  the  law  as 
a  covenant  of  works,  to  be  thereby  justified  or  condemned,11  yet 
is  it  of  great  use  to  them,  as  well  as  to  others :  in  that,  as  a  rule 
of  life,  informing  them  of  the  will  of  God  and  their  duty,  it 
directs  and  binds  them  to  walk  accordingly  ;12  discovering  also 
the  sinful  pollutions  of  their  nature,  hearts  and  lives;13  so  as, 
examining  themselves  thereby,  they  may  come  to  further  convic- 
tion of,  humiliation  for,  and  hatred  against  sin  ;u  together  with  a 
clearer  sight  of  the  need  they  have  of  Christ,  and  the  perfection 
of  his  obedience.15  It  is  likewise  of  use  to  the  regenerate,  to 
restrain  their  corruptions,  in  that  it  forbids  sin  ;16  and  the  threat- 
enings  of  it  serve  to  show  what  even  their  sins  deserve,  and  what 
afflictions  in  this  life  they  may  expect  for  them,  although  freed 
from  the  curse  thereof  threatened  in  the  law.17  The  promises  of 
it,  in  like  manner,  show  them  God's  approbation  of  obedience, 
and   what   blessings   they   may   expect   upon    the    performance 


348  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

thereof,18  although  not  as  due  to  them  by  the  law  as  a  covenant 
of  works;19  so  as  a  man's  doing  good,  and  refraining  from  evil, 
because  the  law  encourageth  to  the  one  and  deterreth  from  the 
other,  is  no  evidence  of  his  being  under  the  law,  and  not  under 
grace.20 

Section  VII. — Neither  are  the  forementioned  uses  of  the  law 
contrary  to  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  but  do  sweetly  comply  with 
it;21  the  Spirit  of  Christ  subduing  and  enabling  the  will  of  man 
to  do  that  freely  and  cheerfully  which  the  will  of  God  revealed  in 
the  law  requireth  to  be  done.22 

11  Rom.  vi.  14;  Gal.  ii.  16;  iii.  13;  iv.  4,  5;  Acts  xiii.  39;  Rom.  viii.  1.— 
12  Rom.  vii.  12,  22,  25;  Ps.  cxix.  4-6;  1  Cor.  vii.  19;  Gal.  v.  14,  16,  18- 
23.— 13  Rom.  vii.  7 ;  iii.  20.—"  James  i.  23-25  ;  Rom.  vii.  9, 14,  24.— «  Gal. 
iii.  24;  Rom.  vii.  24,  25;  viii.  3,  4.— 16  James  ii.  11 ;  Ps.  cxix.  101,  104, 
128.— »  Ezra  ix.  13,  14;  Ps.  lxxxix.  30-34.— "  Lev.  xxvi.  1-14;  2  Cor.  vi. 
16;  Eph.  vi.  2,  3;  Ps.  xxxvii.  11;  Matt.  v.  5;  Ps.  xix.  11.—"  Gal.  ii.  16; 
Luke  xvii.  10.— 20  Rom.  vi.  12,  14;  1  Pet.  iii.  8-12;  Ps.  xxxiv.  12-16; 
Heb.  xii.  28,  29.— 21  Gal.  iii.  21.— 22  Ezek.  xxxvi.  27;  Heb.  viii.  10;  Jer. 
xxxi.  33. 

In  these  Sections  it  is  affirmed — 

1st.  That  since  the  fall  no  man  is  able  to  attain  to 
righteousness  and  eternal  life  through  obedience  to  the 
law.  This  is  beyond  question,  because  all  men  have 
sinned ;  because  men's  natures  are  depraved ;  because 
the  law  demands  perfect  and  perpetual  obedience;  and 
because,  "If  righteousness  come  by  the  law,  then  Christ 
is  dead  in  vain."  Gal.  ii.  21. 

2d.  That  those  who  have  embraced  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  are  no  longer  under  the  law  as  a  covenant  of 
life,  but  grace. 

3d.  That  nevertheless,  under  the  gospel  dispensation 
and  in  perfect  harmony  with  its  principles,  the  law  is  of 
manifold  uses  for  all  classes  of  men,  and  especially  in 
*he  following  respects : 

(1.)  To  all  men  generally  the  law  is  a  revelation  of 


THE   LAW   OF   GOD.  349 

the  character  and  will  of  God,  a  standard  of  moral 
excellence  and  a  rule  for  the  regulation  of  action. 

(2.)  To  unregenerate  men,  considered  in  relation  to 
the  gospel,  the  law  is  of  use  to  convince  them  of  the 
holiness  and  justice  of  God,  of  their  own  guilt  and  pol- 
lution, of  their  utter  inability  to  fulfil  its  requirements, 
and  so  to  act  as  a,  schoolmaster  to  bring  them  to  Christ. 
Rom.  vii.  7-13;  Gal.  iii.  24. 

(3.)  With  respect  to  incorrigible  sinners,  the  law  is 
of  use  to  restrain  the  outbursts  of  their  evil  passions, 
to  render  their  disobedience  without  excuse,  to  vindicate 
the  justice  of  God  in  their  condemnation,  and  to  render 
their  cases  a  warning  to  others.  1  Tim.  i.  9 ;  Rom.  i.  20; 
ii.  15;  John  iii.  18,  36. 

(4.)  In  respect  to  regenerate  men,  the  law  continues 
to  be  indispensable  as  the  instrument  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  the  work  of  their  sanctification.  It  remains  to  them 
an  inflexible  standard  of  righteousness,  to  which  their 
nature  and  their  actions  ought  to  correspond.  It  shows 
them  the  extent  of  their  obligations  to  Christ,  and  how 
far  short,  as  yet,  they  are  from  having  apprehended  that 
whereunto  they  were  apprehended  in  Christ  Jesus.  It 
thus  tends  to  set  up  in  the  regenerate  the  habit  of  con- 
viction of  sin  and  of  repentance  and  faith.  Its  threaten- 
ings  and  its  promises  present  motives  deterring  from  sin 
and  assuring  of  grace,  and  thus  leading  the  soul  onward 
to  that  blissful  attainment  when  the  sovereignly  im- 
posed law  of  God  will  become  the  spontaneous  law  of 
our  spirits,  and  hence  that  royal  law  of  liberty  of  which 
•James  speaks.  James  i.  25;  ii.  8,  12.  See  L.  Cat.,  Qs. 
94-97. 


350  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 


QUESTIONS. 


1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  two  Sections  ? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  third  taught? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth  taught? 

5.  Why  is  it  certain  that  at  his  creation  God  placed  man  under 
an  inalienable  and  perpetual  obligation  to  obey  the  moral  law? 

6.  What  is  the  ultimate  ground  and  rule  of  all  law? 

7.  What  relation  in  this  regard  does  the  divine  will  sustain  to 
the  divine  nature  ? 

8.  Into  how  many  classes  may  all  divine  laws  be  distributed? 

9.  State  the  characteristics  of  the  first  class. 

10.  Do  the  same  of  the  second  class. 

11.  Do  the  same  of  the  third  class. 

12.  Do  the  same  of  the  fourth  class. 

13.  How  was  this  moral  law  at  first  revealed? 

14.  State  proof  of  your  answer. 

15.  Is  this  law  as  thus  revealed  sufficient  for  man's  needs  since 
the  fall? 

16.  Where  is  the  only  complete  revelation  of  the  will  of  God 
made  to  man  ? 

17.  What  practical  conclusions  follow  from  the  fact  that  the 
Scriptures  are  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  complete 
as  such  ? 

18.  Into  what  special  relation  to  the  law  was  man  introduced 
at  his  creation  ? 

19.  What  was  the  issue  of  that  arrangement? 

20.  Who  has  taken  Adam's  forfeited  place  in  that  covenant? 

21.  Have  the  elect  been  delivered  from  the  claims  which  the 
law  makes  upon  us  in  every  relation,  and  if  not,  in  what  respect 
does  the  law  remain  binding? 

22.  What  is  meant  when  it  is  asserted  that  the  whole  moral 
law  is  summarily  comprehended  in  the  Ten  Commandments? 

23.  Prove  that  such  is  the  fact. 

21.  In  what  way  and  for  what  purpose  has  the  Church  of  Rome 
tampered  with  the  Decalogue? 


THE   LAW    OF   GOD.  351 

25.  What  is  the  great  principle  we  are  to  bear  in  mind  in  inter- 
preting the  Decalogue  ? 

26.  What  is  the  fast  rule  laid  down  in  the  L.  Cat,  Q.  99? 

27.  What  is  the  second  rule  there  laid  down  ?    What  the  third, 
fourth  and  fifth  ? 

28.  What  is  theirs*  proposition  taught  in  the  third,  fourth  and 
fifth  Sections? 

29.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

30.  What  is  the  third  f 

31.  What  is  the  fourth? 

32.  What  laws  were  not  abrogated  by  the  introduction  of  the 
Christian  dispensation  ? 

33.  Prove  that  the  moral  law  was  not  abrogated. 

34.  By  what  principles  are  we  to  determine  what  laws  are  of 
permanent  and  what  are  of  temporary  obligation? 

35.  In  what  different  aspects  may  the  Mosaic  institute  be 
viewed  ? 

36.  How  can  you  prove  that  the  ceremonial  system  introduced 
by  Moses  was  typical  of  Christ  and  his  work  ? 

37.  State  the  difference  between  a  symbol  and  a  type. 

38.  Show  that  the  ceremonial  system  was  superseded  by  Christ. 

39.  Show  that  the  judicial  laws  of  the  Jews  are  no  longer 
binding. 

40.  What  is  theirs*  proposition  taught  in  the  sixth  and  seventh 
Sections? 

41.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

42.  What  is  the  third? 

43.  What  are  the  uses  of  the  law  to  men  in  general  under  the 
Gospel  dispensation  ? 

44.  What  are  its  uses  to  unregenerate  men  in  view  of  the  offers 
of  grace  in  the  gospel? 

45.  What  are  its  uses  with  respect  to  incorrigible  sinners  ? 

46.  What  are  its  uses  to  the  regenerate  ? 


CHAPTER    XX. 

OF    CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY   AND    LIBERTY    OF  CONSCIENCE. 

Section  I. — The  liberty  which  Christ  hath  purchased  foi 
believers  under  the  gospel,  consists  in  their  freedom  from  the 
guilt  of  sin,  the  condemning  wrath  of  God,  the  curse  of  the 
moral  law  ;x  and  in  their  being  delivered  from  this  present  evil 
world,  bondage  to  Satan,  and  dominion  of  sin,2  from  the  evil  of 
afflictions,  the  sting  of  death,  the  victory  of  the  grave,  and  ever- 
lasting damnation  ;3  as  also  in  their  free  access  to  God,4  and  their 
yielding  obedience  unto  him,  not  out  of  slavish  fear,  but  a  child- 
like love  and  willing  mind.6  All  which  were  common  also  to 
believers  under  the  law;6  but  under  the  New  Testament,  the 
liberty  of  Christians  is  further  enlarged  in  their  freedom  from 
the  yoke  of  the  ceremonial  law,  to  which  the  Jewish  Church  was 
subjected,7  and  in  greater  boldness  of  access  to  the  throne  of 
grace,8  and  in  fuller  communications  of  the  free  Spirit  of  God 
than  believers  under  the  law  did  ordinarily  partake  of.9 

1  Tit.  ii.  14;  1  Thess.  i.  10;  Gal.  iii.  13.— 2  Gal.  i.  4;  Col.  i.  13;  Acta 
xxvi.  18;  Bom.  vi.  14;  3  Bom  viii.  2S ;  Ps.  cxix.  71;  1  Cor.  xv.  54-57; 
Bom.  viii.  1.— *  Bom.  v.  1,  2. — 5  Bom.  viii.  14,  15;  1  John  iv.  18. — 6  Gal. 
iii.  9,  14.— 7  Gal.  iv.  1-3,  6,  7:  v.  1;  Acts  xv.  10,  11.— 8  Heb.  iv.  14,  16;  x. 
19-22.— 9  John  vii.  38,  39;  2  Cor.  iii.  13,  17,  18. 

The  subject  of  this  Chapter  is  that  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  makes  his  people  free,  which  is  very  different 
tiom  that  freedom  of  the  will  which  we  discussed  under 
Chapter  ix.  We  there  saw  that  freedom  of  the  will  is 
an  inalienable  constitutional  faculty  of  the  human  soul, 
whereby  it  always  exercises  its  volitions  as  upon  the 
whole  it  pleases  in  any  given  case.     This  liberty  of  will 

352 


CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY — LIBERTY   OF    CONSCIENCE.      353 

is  essential  to  free  agency,  and  is  possessed  by  all  free 
agents,  good  or  bad,  or  they  could  not  be  held  account- 
able. Christian  liberty  on  the  other  hand  implies  two 
things;  (a)  such  an  inward  spiritual  condition  of  soul 
that  a  man  has  full  power  through  grace  to  desire  and 
will  as  he  ought  to  do  in  conformity  to  the  law  of  God ; 
and  (b)  such  relations  to  God  that  the  person  is  deliv- 
ered from  the  constraining  motives  of  fear,  and  brought 
under  the  ennobling  impulses  of  love  and  hope,  and 
such  relations  to  Satan  and  evil  men  that  he  is  delivered 
from  their  coercive  influences,  and  such  providential 
circumstances  that  he  has  knowledge  of  his  privileges 
and  gracious  aid  in  availing  himself  of  them.  This 
liberty  involves  the  change  of  nature  effected  in  regen- 
eration and  perfected  in  sanctification,  and  the  change 
of  relation  involved  in  justification.  It  is  a  main  element 
in  the  grace  of  adoption,  and  a  privilege  of  all  the  chil- 
dren of  God.  Rom.  viii.  24.  It  was  purchased  for  us 
by  Christ,  and  is  therefore  attributed  to  him  (Gal.  v.  1); 
it  is  applied  and  effectually  wrought  in  us  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  therefore  attributed  to  him.  2  Cor.  iii.  17. 

This  Section  sets  forth  this  precious  and  most  com- 
prehensive Christian  grace  in  two  orders — -first,  as  it  is 
common  to  all  believers  at  all  times,  and,  second,  as  it  is 
enjoyed  pre-eminently  in  certain  respects  by  believers 
under  the  new  dispensation  in  contrast  to  believers 
under  the  old. 

1st.  As  this  Christian  liberty  is  common  to  all  be- 
lievers in  all  ages,  it  consists  mainly  in  the  following 
particulars : 

(1.)  They  are  delivered  from  the  guilt  of  sin  and  the 
curse  of  the  moral  law.     This  is  done,  as  we  saw  under 

23 


354  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

Chapter  xi.,  when  the  believer  is  justified,  his  guilt  in 
strict  rigour  of  justice  cancelled,  and  all  the  demands  of 
the  law  satisfied  by  crediting  to  his  account  the  perfect 
righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  guilt  of  his  sin  hav- 
ing thus  been  actually  extinguished,  and  the  demands 
of  the  law  having  been  perfectly  satisfied,  they  can  no 
longer  hold  him  in  bondage.  "  It  is  God  that  justifi- 
eth:  who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?"  Rom  viii.  33,  34. 

(2.)  They  are  delivered  also  from  the  bondage  of  sin 
as  an  inherent  principle  of  their  nature.  This  deliver- 
ance is  commenced  in  regeneration,  and  is  carried  on 
and  perfected  in  sanctification,  as  we  saw  under  Chapters 
x.  and  xiii.  A  law  still  remains  in  their  members 
warring  against  the  law  of  their  mind,  and  bringing 
them  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  their 
members  (Rom.  vii.  23);  nevertheless  the  indwelling 
Holy  Spirit  works  with  them  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
good  pleasure,  and  thus  secures  them,  upon  the  whole, 
the  victory.     See  Chapter  xvii. 

(3.)  They  thus  have  peace  with  God.  This  includes 
the  two  precious  benefits  of  God's  reconciliation  to  us 
through  the  propitiation  of  our  High  Priest,  and  our 
reconciliation  to  him  through  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Thus  we  are  delivered  from  that  fear  which 
hath  torment  and  gendereth  to  bondage,  and  have  tliat 
filial,  submissive,  confiding  love  shed  abroad  in  our 
nearts  which  casteth  out  all  fear.  1  John  iv.  18.  The 
Holy  Ghost  himself  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance, 
and  vitnesseth  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  the  children 
of  God.  Rom.  viii.  16.  Thus  having  a  High  Priest  over 
the  house  of  God,  we  have  great  confidence  in  entering 
into  the  very  holiest  through  the  new  and  living  \vi\v 


CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY — LIBERTY   OF    CONSCIENCE.     355 

opened  by  Christ,  where  God  makes  the  clearest  revela- 
tions and  fullest  communications  of  his  grace  to  his 
beloved. 

(4.)  They  are  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  Satan 
and  the  dominating  influence  of  this  present  evil  world. 
The  power  of  the  "  world7'  and  the  "  devil"  depends 
upon  the  "  flesh/'  or  the  corrupt  state  of  the  man's  own 
heart.  Christ  "  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we 
are,  yet  without  sin."  Heb.  iv.  15.  The  act  of  justifica- 
tion has  consecrated  the  believer  to  God.  The  work  of 
sanctification  breaks  the  power  of  temptation,  God  in 
every  case  either  graciously  enabling  us  to  resist  and 
come  off  conqueror,  or  providentially  opening  a  way  of 
escape  for  us.  1  Cor.  x.  13.  Thus  Satan,  too,  is  subject 
to  his  power;  he  helps  us  to  resist  Satan  and  put  him  to 
flight,  and  the  excess  of  his  malignant  power  he  prevents 
and  restrains. 

(5.)  They  are  delivered  from  the  evil  of  afflictions 
and  the  sting  of  death.  The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and 
the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law,  but  Christ  has  delivered 
them  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  foi 
them.  In  justification  the  believer's  relation  to  the  law 
is  permanently  changed.  It  is  no  more  the  basis  of  his 
salvation.  And  death,  and  all  the  sorrows  incident  to 
this  life,  which  are  the  consequences  of  sin,  which  to  the 
reprobate  are  parts  of  the  penalty  of  sin  inflicted  iri 
pursuance  of  law,  to  the  true  believers  are  elements  of 
God's  chastening  grace,  designed  for  their  :mprovement. 
Heb.  xii.  6-11.  By  the  death  of  Christ  believers  are 
delivered  from  the  fear  of  death.  Heb.  ii.  14,  15. 

(6.)  Thoy  are  also  delivered  from  the  victory  of  the 
grave  and  everlasting  damnation.     The  first  effect  of 


356  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

his  redemption  which  the  true  believer  sensibly  experi- 
ences is  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins.  If  his  sins  are  for- 
given, the  penal  consequences  of  them  must  be  removed. 
"  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which 
are  in  Christ  Jesus."  Rom.  viii.  1.  There  can  therefore 
be  nothing  to  fear  beyond  death,  which  is  the  gate  of 
heaven.  Even  our  mortal  bodies  are  members  of  Christ 
and  temples  of  that  Holy  Ghost  who  will  quicken  them 
and  transform  them  into  the  likeness  of  our  glorious 
Redeemer.  1  Cor.  vi.  15-19;  Rom.  viii.  11 ;  Phil.  iii.  21. 

2d.  In  certain  respects,  believers  under  the  Gospel 
enjoy  this  Christian  liberty  in  a  higher  degree  than  it 
was  enjoyed  by  believers  under  the  Old  Testament. 

(1.)  The  New  Testament  believer  is  delivered  from 
the  obligation  of  the  ceremonial  law.  This  law  was  to 
the  Old  Testament  believer  the  revelation  of  the  Gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God,  and  therefore  an  inestimable  bless- 
ing ;  but  it  was  comparatively  so  obscured  with  material 
symbols  and  ceremonies,  and  enforced  obedience  so 
largely  by  coercive  measures,  that  the  Apostle  called  the 
whole  system  "  the  elements  of  the  world,"  under  which 
the  Jews  were  in  bondage  (Gal.  iv.  3) ;  "a  yoke  of 
bondage"  (Gal.  v.  1),  and  "carnal  ordinances  imposed 
on  them  until  the  time  of  reformation."  Heb.  ix.  10. 
And  in  contrast  therewith  he  exhorts  the  Christian 
Galatians  to  "stand  fast  in  that  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
has  made  us  free."  Gal.  v.  1.  We  enjoy  the  clear  light 
shed  from  the  person  and  work  of  our  adorable  Re- 
deemer in  person.  We  have  the  direct  instead  of  the 
reflected  ray — immediate  access  to  the  Father  instead  of 
a  constrained  approach  through  the  medium  of  priests 
and  an  outward  sanctuary. 


CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY — LIBERTY    OF    CONSCIENCE.     357 

(2.)  In  connection  with  this,  believers  under  the 
present  dispensation  have  great  boldness  in  approach- 
ing God  and  fuller  communications  of  his  Spirit.  The 
greater  boldness  now  enjoyed  evidently  results  from  the 
clearer  and  fuller  revelation  now  enjoyed  of  the  method 
and  completeness  of  redemption  and  the  greater  fulness 
in  the  communications  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  divine 
Person,  as  we  know,  inspired  the  Old  Testament  prophets 
and  sanctified  the  Old  Testament  saints;  nevertheless 
the  new  dispensation  is  pre-eminently  characterized  by 
the  clearness  with  which  the  truth  with  respect  to  the 
office  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  revealed  and  the  fulness 
with  which  his  influence  is  dispensed.  Christ  promised 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  this  pre-eminent  measure 
of  it  after  his  ascension.  John  xv.  26.  Previously  it 
was  said,  "  The  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet  given,  because 
that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified."  John  vii.  39.  After 
his  ascension  on  the  great  day  of  Pentecost,  Peter  said 
that  in  fulfilment  of  the  Old  Testament  prophecy  (Isa. 
xliv.  3 ;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  27),  and  the  promise  of  Christ, 
"  he  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having 
received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
hath  shed  forth  this  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."  Acts 
ii.  17,  33. 

Section  II. — G-od  alone  is  Lord  of  the  conscience,10  and  hath 
left  it  free  from  the  doctrines  and  commandments  of  men  which 
are  in  anything  contrary  to  his  word,  or  beside  it,  in  matters  of  faith 
or  worship.11  So  that  to  believe  such  doctrines,  or  to  obey  such 
commandments  out  of  conscience,  is  to  betray  true  liberty  of  con- 
science ;ls  and  the  requiring  of  an  implicit  faith,  and  an  absolute 
and  blind  obedience,  is  to  destroy  liberty  of  conscience  and  rea- 
son also.13 

Section  III.— They  who,  upon  pretence  of  Christian  liberty. 


358  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

do  practice  any  sin,  or  cherish,  any  lust,  do  thereby  destroy  th« 
end  of  Christian  liberty ;  which  is,  that,  being  delivered  out  of 
the  hands  of  our  enemies,  we  might  serve  the  Lord  without  fear, 
in  holiness  and  righteousness  before  him,  all  the  days  of  our  life.14 
Section  IV. — And  because  the  powers  which  God  hath  or- 
dained, and  the  liberty  which  Christ  hath  purchased,  are  not 
intended  by  God  to  destroy,  but  mutually  to  uphold  and  preserve 
one  another ;  they  who,  upon  pretence  of  Christian  liberty,  shall 
oppose  any  lawful  power,  or  the  lawful  exercise  of  it,  whether  it 
be  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  resist  the  ordinance  of  God.15  And  for 
their  publishing  of  such  opinions,  or  maintaining  of  such  prac- 
tices, as  are  contrary  to  the  light  of  nature,  or  to  the  known  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity,  whether  concerning  faith,  worship  or  con- 
versation ;  or  to  the  power  of  godliness ;  or  such  erroneous 
opinions  or  practices,  as  either  in  their  own  nature,  or  in  the 
manner  of  publishing  or  maintaining  them,  are  destructive  to  the 
external  peace  and  order  which  Christ  hath  established  in  the 
Church  ;  they  may  lawfully  be  called  to  account,  and  proceeded 
against  by  the  censures  of  the  Church.16 

10  James  iv.  12  ;  Rom.  xiv.  4.— "  Acts  iv.  19  ;  v.  29 ;  1  Cor.  vii.  23 ;  Matt, 
xxiii.  8-10;  2  Cor.  i.  24 ;  Matt.  xv.  9.— «  Col.  ii.  20,  22,  23;  Gal.  i.  10  ;  Li. 
4,  5;  v.  1.— 13  Rom.  x.  17;  Rom.  xiv.  23;  Isa.  viii.  20;  Acts  xvii.  11; 
John  iv.  22;  Hos.  v.  11;  Rev.  xiii.  12,  16,  17;  Jer.  viii.  9.— 14  Gal.  v.  13; 
1  Pet.  ii.  16;  2  Pet.  ii.  19 ;  John  viii.  34;  Luke  i.  74,  75.— 15  Matt.  xii.  25; 
1  Pet.  ii.  13,  14,  16;  Rom.  xiii.  1-8;  Heb.  xiii.  17.— 16  Rom.  i.  32;  1  Cor. 
v.  1,  5,  11,  13;  2  John  10,  11 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  14  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  3-5  ;  Tit.  i.  10, 
11,  13;  iii.  10  ;  Matt,  xviii.  15-17  ;  1  Tim.  i.  19,  20 ;  Rev.  ii.  2,  14,  15,  20  ; 
iii.  9. 

These  Sections  teach  the  following  propositions  : 
1st.  God   alone   is    Lord   of  the  human    conscience, 
which  is  responsible  only  to  his  authority. 

2d.  God  has  authoritatively  addressed  the  Human 
conscience  only  in  his  law,  the  only  perfect  revelation 
of  which  in  this  world  is  the  inspired  Scriptures.  Hence 
God  himself  has  set  the  human  conscience  free  from  all 
obligation  to  believe  or  obey  any  such  doctrines  or  com- 


CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY — LIBERTY   OF   CONSCIENCE.     359 

mand merits  of  men  as  are  either  contrary  to  or  aside 
from  the  teachings  of  that  Word. 

3d.  Hence  to  believe  such  doctrines,  or  to  obey  such 
commandments  as  a  matter  of  conscience,  is  to  be  guilty 
of  tne  sin  of  betraying  the  liberty  of  conscience  and  its 
loyalty  to  its  only  Lord  ;  and  to  require  such  an  obe- 
dience of  others  is  to  be  guilty  of  the  sin  of  usurping 
the  prerogative  of  God  and  attempting  to  destroy  the 
most  precious  liberties  of  men. 

4th.  This  Christian  liberty  is  not,  however,  absolute. 
It  has  its  distinct  end  and  limits.  Its  end  is  that  every 
person,  without  hindrance  of  his  fellow-men,  should 
have  opportunity  to  serve  God  according  to  his  will. 
The  limits  of  this  liberty  are  of  two  kinds:  (a.)  The 
authority  of  God,  the  Lord  of  conscience,  (b.)  The 
equal  liberties  and  rights  of  our  fellow-men,  with  whom 
we  dwell  in  organized  societies. 

5th.  Since  God  has  established  both  the  Church  and 
the  State,  obedience  to  the  legitimate  authorities  of 
either,  acting  within  their  rightful  sphere,  is  an  essential 
part  of  obedience  to  God. 

6th.  The  Church  has  the  right  from  God  of  exercis- 
ing its  discipline  upon  any  who  maintain  or  practice 
opinions  or  actions  plainly  contrary  to  the  light  of 
nature,  the  doctrines  of  the  Scripture  or  the  peace  and 
welfare  of  the  Christian  community. 

1st.  That,  in  the  highest  and  only  absolute  sense,  God 
alone  is  Lord  of  the  human  conscience,  has  never  been 
denied.  The  real  question  raised  by  Romanists,  and 
those  in  general  who  have  claimed  the  authority  of 
binding  and  loosing  the  consciences  of  their  fellow-men, 
relates  to  the  standard  which  God   has  given  us  of  hi* 


360  CONFESSION    OP    FAITH. 

will,  and  the  means  he  has  chosen  to  enforce  it.  Th* 
Romanists  maintain  that  the  true  standard  and  orffan  ot 
the  will  of  God  in  the  world  is  the  infallible  inspired 
Church,  or  body  of  bishops  ordained  regularly  in  a 
direct  line  from  the  apostles  and  in  communion  with  the 
See  of  Rome.  They  hold  that  this  Church  has  power  to 
define  doctrines  and  enact  laws  in  God's  name,  binding 
the  consciences  of  men ;  and  that  it  possesses,  in  the 
power  of  the  keys,  the  right,  in  execution  of  these  laws, 
to  absolve  or  condemn  in  God's  name,  to  bind  or  loose 
the  subject  and  open  or  shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
and  to  impose  ecclesiastical  penalties.*  By  far  the 
larger  part  of  what  the  Church  of  Rome  actually  en- 
forces in  the  way  of  faith  aud  practice  is  derived  from 
ecclesiastical  tradition  and  evidently  perverted  interpre- 
tations of  Scripture. 

The  Erastian  State  churches  of  Germany  and  Eng- 
land have  often  attempted  to  enforce  outward  uniformity 
in  profession  and  worship,  in  spite  of  the  conscientious 
scruples  of  multitudes  of  their  best  citizens,  on  the  plea 
that  the  right  and  responsibility  of  regulating  the  eccle- 
siastical as  well  as  the  civil  interests  of  the  nation 
devolve  upon  the  civil  magistrate. 

In  opposition  to  all  this,  Protestants  insist — 
2d.  That  God  has  given  only  one,  and  that  a  perfect, 
rule  of  faith  and  practice  in  spiritual  matters  in  the 
inspired  Scriptures,  and  that  he  has  hence  set  free  the 
human  conscience  from  all  obligation  to  believe  or  obey 
any  such  doctrines  or  commandments  of  men  as  are  con- 
trary to  or  aside  from  the  teachings  of  that  Word. 

*  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  i.  10,  18 ;  Bellarmine  Eccle, 
Mil.,  ch.  xiv. ;  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  i.  11,  4. 


CHRISTIAN   LIBERTY — LIBERTY   OF    CONSCIENCE.     361 

We  have  already  proved,  under  Chapter  i.,  §§  6,  7,  9, 
10,  that  Scripture  is  at  once  a  complete  and  perspicuous 
rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  supreme  judge  of  all 
controversies.  It  hence  follows  self-evidently  (a.)  that 
nothing  contrary  to  Scripture  can  be  true,  (6)  that  noth- 
ing in  addition  to  what  is  revealed  or  commanded  in 
Scripture  can  be  binding  upon  the  conscience,  and  (c) 
that,  sJ'.^ce  the  Scriptures  are  perspicuous,  every  believer 
is  personally  responsible  for  interpreting  Scripture  and 
judging  of  all  human  doctrines  and  commandments  by 
Scripture  for  himself.     This  is  further  proved — 

(1.)  Because  the  Scriptures  are  addressed  immediately 
either  to  all  men  promiscuously,  or  else  to  the  whole 
body  of  believers  as  such.  Deut.  vi.  4-9 ;  Luke  i.  3 ; 
Rom.  i.  7  ;  1  Cor.  i.  2 ;  Gal.  i.  2,  etc. 

(2.)  All  Christians  promiscuously  are  commanded  to 
search  the  Scriptures  (Acts  xvii.  11  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  15-17  ; 
John  v.  39),  and  to  give  a  reason  for  their  faith  (1  Pet. 
iii.  15),  and  to  resist  the  authority  even  of  legitimate 
church  rulers  when  it  is  opposed  to  that  of  the  Lord 
of  conscience.   Acts  iv.  19,  20. 

(3.)  The  "  Church"  which  Christ  promises  to  guide 
into  all  truth  and  to  preserve  from  fatal  error  is  not  a 
hierarchy  or  a  body  of  officers,  but  the  body  of  the 
"called"  or  "elect" — the  body  of  believers  as  such.. 
1  John  ii.  20,  27  ;  1  Tim.  iii.  15 ;  Matt,  xvi.  18  ;  Eph. 
v.  27;  1  Pet.  ii.  5;  Col.  i.  18,  24. 

(4.)  Those  who  claim,  as  the  successors  of  the  apostles, 
to  exercise  this  authority,  are  utterly  destitute  of  all  the 
"signs  of  an  apostle."  2  Cor.  xii.  12  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  1  j  Gal. 
i.  1,  12;  Acts  i.  21,  22.  While  provision  was  made  for 
the  regular  perpetuation  of  the  offices  of  deacon  and 


362  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

presbyter  (1  Tim.  iii.  1-13),  there  was  no  direction  given 
for  the  perpetuation  of  the  apostolate.  They  are  utterly 
without  credentials. 

The  question  as  to  the  right  of  the  civil  magistrate  to 
impose  religious  articles  of  faith  or  rules  of  worship  will 
recur  again  under  Chapter  xxiii.,  §  3.    It  hence  follows — 

3d.  That  it  is  a  great  sin,  involving  at  the  same  time 
sacrilege,  and  treason  to  the  human  race,  for  any  man  or 
set  of  men  to  arrogate  the  prerogative  of  God  and  to 
attempt  to  bind  the  consciences  of  their  fellow-men  by 
any  obligation  not  certainly  imposed  by  God  and  re- 
vealed in  his  word.  At  the  same  time  it  is  a  sin  of 
disloyalty  to  God,  and  a  violation  of  our  own  nature  as 
moral  and  rational  beings,  to  yield  to  any  such  imposi- 
tion, and  to  accept  as  a  matter  truly  binding  the  con- 
science anything  not  authoritatively  taught  and  imposed 
in  the  Scriptures. 

4th.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance,  on  the  other 
hand,  clearly  to  understand  that  Christian  liberty  is  not 
an  absolute  liberty  to  do  as  we  choose,  but  a  regulated 
liberty  to  obey  God  without  hindrance  from  man.  It  is 
a  freedom  from  usurped  authority,  in  order  that  we  may 
be  the  more  perfectly  subject  to  the  only  legitimate 
authority.  It  is  hence  absurd,  as  well  as  wicked,  for  a 
man  to  make  his  Christian  liberty  to  obey  only  God  a 
plea  to  disobey  God,  as  he  does  whenever  he  violates 
any  of  the  principles  of  natural  right  or  of  revealed 
truth  which  express  at  once  the  unchangeable  nature 
and  the  all-perfect  will  of  God.  There  can  be  no  liberty 
which  sets  a  man  independent  of  that  will ;  and  this  is 
always  the  will  of  God  concerning  us,  even  our  sanctifi- 
eation.  1  Thess.  iv.  3. 


CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY — LIBERTY    OF    CONSCIENCE.     863 

Christian  liberty  is  also  further  limited  by  the  mutual 
duties  we  owe  one  another.  The  eating  of  meat  offered 
to  idols  is  in  itself  a  thing  indifferent,  because  not  either 
commanded  or  forbidden.  The  Christian,  therefore,  is 
at  liberty  either  to  eat  or  not  to  eat.  But  Paul  com- 
mands the  Corinthians  to  "take  heed  lest  by  any  means 
this  liberty  of  theirs  becomes  a  stumbling-block  to  them 
that  are  weak."  1  Cor.  viii.  9.  To  allow  this  would  be 
a  sin.  The  Christian,  therefore,  may  be  at  liberty  to  eat 
or  not  to  eat,  but  he  is  not  at  all  at  liberty  so  to  use  his 
liberty  that  his  fellow-man  is  injured  thereby.  The  lib- 
erty ceases  to  be  liberty  and  becomes  licentiousness  when 
it  transcends  the  law  of  God  or  infringes  upon  the  rights 
of  our  fellows. 

5th  and  6th.  Since  both  the  Church  and  the  State  are 
divine  institutions,  it  follows  necessarily  that  the  author- 
ity of  tlie  officers  of  each,  when  acting  legitimately  within 
their  respective  spheres,  represents  the  authority  of  God 
and  binds  the  Christian  to  obedience  for  conscience'  sake. 
It  follows  also  that  both  the  civil  magistrate  and  the 
ecclesiastical  courts  must  have  the  right  of  enforcing 
obedience  by  a  mode  of  discipline  appropriate  to  both 
spheres  of  authority.  These  matters,  however,  come  up 
appropriately  under  Chapters  xxiii.,  xxv.  and  xxx. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  subject  of  this  Chapter? 

2.  How  does  it  differ  from  that  of  Chapter  ix.  ? 

3.  What  is  implied  in  Christian  liberty  ? 

4.  In  what  two  aspects  is  this  liberty  set  forth  in  this  Chapter? 

5.  What  several  particulars  are  embraced  in  that  liberty  which 
is  common  to  all  believers? 


364  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

6.  How  have  Christians  freedom  from  the  guilt  of  sin  and  the 
curse  of  the  moral  law? 

7.  How  have  they  liberty  from  the  bondage  of  sin  ? 

8.  In  what  sense  have  they  peace  with  God  ? 

9.  How  have  they  liberty  from  the  dominion  of  Satan  and  the 
world  ? 

10.  How  have  they  freedom  from  the  evil  of  afflictions  and  the 
sting  of  death  ? 

11.  How  are  they  delivered  from  the  victory  of  the  grave  and 
the  second  death? 

12.  In  what  respects  do  believers  under  the  gospel  enjoy  this 
liberty  more  freely  than  did  believers  under  the  law? 

13.  How  is  the  believer  under  the  present  dispensation  deliv- 
ered from  the  obligation  to  observe  the  ceremonial  law,  and  why 
is  that  an  advantage? 

14.  Why  have  believers  now  greater  boldness  in  approaching 
God  and  fuller  communications  of  his  Spirit? 

15.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  second,  third 
and  fourth  Sections? 

16.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

17.  What  is  the  third  there  taught? 

18.  What  is  the  fourth  there  taught? 

19.  What  is  the  fifth  there  taught? 

20.  What  is  the  sixth  there  taught? 

21.  Has  it  ever  been  denied  by  theists  that  in  the  absolute 
sense  God  is  the  only  Lord  of  the  conscience? 

22.  What  is  the  Romish  position  on  this  subject? 

23.  What  that  of  the  Erastian  State  churches  of  Europe? 

24.  What,  on  the  contrary,  is  the  common  Protestant  doctrine 
as  to  the  true  standard  of  God's  will  in  all  questions  of  conscience? 

25.  In  what  part  of  this  book  is  this  question  discussed? 

26.  If  the  Scriptures  are  a  complete  and  perspicuous  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  what  follows? 

27.  Show  that  the  Scriptures  are  addressed  directly  to  all  men, 
or  to  Christians  as  such. 

28.  Show  that  all  believers  are  commanded  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures and  to  judge  of  the  truth  of  every  doctrine  by  that  standard. 

29.  Show  that  the  Cburch  which  Christ  has  promised  to  lead 


CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY — LIBERTY   OF    CONSCIENCE.     365 

to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  is  not  the  priesthood,  but  the  entire 
company  of  the  faithful. 

30.  Show  that  the  Romish  hierarchy  have  no  support  for  their 
claims. 

31.  Where  will  the  questions  concerning  the  authority  of  the 
civil  magistrate  in  matters  of  conscience,  be  discussed? 

32.  What  is  the  natur1  of  their  sin  who  attempt  to  impose  their 
authority  upon  the  consciences  of  others? 

33.  What  is  the  nature  of  their  sin  who  give  up  their  con- 
sciences to  the  control  of  others? 

34.  What  is  the  Jlrst  limit  to  Christian  liberty? 

35.  What  is  the  second  limit  to  Christian  liberty? 

36.  Show  that  it  must  be  limited  in  both  these  ways. 

37.  Where  will  the  questions  relating  to  the  authority  of  the 
civil  magistrate  and  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts  be  discussed? 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

OF   RELIGIOUS   WORSHIP   AND   THE   SABBATH-DAY. 

Section  I.  —The  light  of  nature  showeth  that  there  is  a  God, 
who  hath  lordship  and  sovereignty  over  all;  is  good,  and  doeth 
good  unto  all;  and  is,  therefore,  to  be  feared,  loved,  praised, 
called  upon,  trusted  in,  and  served,  with  all  the  heart,  and  with 
all  the  soul,  and  with  all  the  might.1  But  the  acceptable  way  of 
worshipping  the  true  God  is  instituted  by  himself,  and  so  limited 
by  his  own  revealed  will,  that  he  may  not  be  worshipped  accord- 
ing to  the  imaginations  and  devices  of  men,  or  the  suggestions 
of  Satan,  under  any  visible  representation,  or  any  other  way  not 
prescribed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.2 

Section  II. — Religious  worship  is  to  be  given  to  God,  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost ;  and  to  him  alone  :3  not  to  angels, 
saints,  or  any  other  creature:4  and,  since  the  fall,  not  without  a 
Mediator;  nor  in  the  mediation  of  any  other  but  of  Christ 
alone.5 

1  Rom.  i.  20;  Acts  xvii.  24;  Ps.  cxix.  6S ;  Jer.  x.  7;  Ps.  xxxi.  23;  xvii. 
3;  Rom.  x.  12;  Ps.  lxii.  8;  Josh.  xxiv.  14;  Mark  xii.  33.— 2  D.;ut.  xii.  32; 
Matt.  xv.  9;  Acts  xvii.  25;  Matt.  iv.  9,  10;  Deut.  xv.  1-20;  Ex.  xx.  4-6; 
Col.  ii.  23.— 3  Matt.  iv.  10  ;  John  v.  23;  2  Cor.  xiii.  14.—*  Col.  ii.  18;  Rev. 
xix.  10;  Rom.  i.  25.-6  jonn  xiv.  6;  1  Tim.  ii.  5  ;  Eph.  ii.  18;  Col.  iii.  17. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  That  the  obligation  to  render  supreme  worship 
and  devoted  service  to  God  is  a  dictate  of  nature  as 
well  as  a  doctrine  of  revelation. 

2d.  That  God  in  his  word  has  prescribed  for  us  how 
we  maj  worship  him  acceptably,  and  that  it  is  an  offence 

366 


RELIGIOUS   WORSHIP,   AND   THE   SABBATH-DAY.      36  7 

to  him  and  a  sin  in  us  either  to  neglect  to  worship  and 
serve  him  in  the  way  prescribed,  or  to  attempt  to  serve 
him  in  any  way  not  prescribed. 

3d.  That  the  only  proper  objects  of  worship  are  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  since  the  full 
these  are  to  be  approached  only  through  a  Mediator, 
and  through  the  mediation  of  none  other  than  Christ 
alone. 

4th.  That  religious  worship  is  upon  no  pretence  to  be 
rendered  to  angels  or  to  saints  or  to  any  other  creature. 

1st.  That  it  is  a  dictate  of  natural  reason  and  con- 
science that  a  Being  of  infinite  and  absolute  perfection, 
the  Creator,  Possessor  and  sovereign  Lord,  the  Preserver 
and  bountiful  Benefactor  of  all  creatures,  and  the  abso- 
lute moral  Governor  of  all  moral  agents,  should  be 
adored,  praised,  thanked,  supplicated,  obeyed  and  served, 
is  self-evident,  and  is  witnessed  to  by  the  common  con- 
sent of  all  nations  of  all  ages.  The  reasons  for  this  are 
— (a.)  His  absolute  perfection  in  himself.  (6.)  His  in- 
finite superiority  to  us.  (c.)  His  relation  to  us  as  Crea- 
tor, Preserver  and  moral  Governor,  (d.)  Our  absolute 
dependence  upon  him  for  every  good,  and  our  obliga- 
tions for  his  infinite  goodness  to  us.  (e.)  His  commands 
requiring  this  at  our  hands.  (/.)  The  impulse  of  oiu 
nature  as  religious  beings  and  morally  responsible 
agents,  (g.)  The  fact  that  our  faculties  find  their  high- 
est exercise,  and  our  whole  being  its  highest  develop- 
ment and  blessedness  in  this  worship  and  service. 

2d.  We  have  already  seen,  under  Chapter  i.,  that  God 
has  given  us  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  an  infallible,  au- 
thoritative, complete  and  perspicuous  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.    That  "  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  concerning  all 


568  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

things  necessary  for  his  own  glory  and  man's  salvation, 
faith  and  life,  is  either  expressly  set  down  in  Scripture, 
or  by  good  and  necessary  consequence  may  be  deduced 
from  Scripture."  It  hence  necessarily  follows  that  since 
God  has  prescribed  the  mode  in  which  we  are  accept- 
ably to  worship  and  serve  him,  it  must  be  an  offence  to 
him  and  a  sin  in  us  for  us  either  to  neglect  his  way,  or 
»fi  preference  to  practice  our  own.  It  may  well  have 
been  that  in  the  natural  state  of  man  and  in  his  moral 
relations  to  God  in  which  he  stood  before  the  fall,  his 
natural  reason,  conscience  and  religious  instinct  might 
have  sufficed  to  direct  him  in  his  worship  and  service. 
But  since  man's  moral  nature  is  depraved,  and  his  re- 
ligious instincts  perverted,  and  his  relations  to  God 
reversed  by  sin,  it  is  self-evident  that  an  explicit,  posi- 
tive revelation  is  necessary  not  only  to  tell  men  that 
God  will  admit  his  worship  at  all,  but  also  to  prescribe 
the  principles  upon  which,  and  the  methods  in  which, 
that  worship  and  service  may  be  rendered.  As  before 
shown  from  Scripture,  not  only  all  teaching  for  doctrine 
the  commandments  of  men,  but  all  manner  of  ivill-worsliiii) 
of  self-chosen  acts  and  forms  of  worship,  are  an  abomina- 
tion to  God.  At  the  same  time,  of  course,  there  are,  as 
the  Confession  admits,  Chapter  i.,  §  6,  some  circumstances 
concerning  the  worship  of  God  and  the  government  of 
the  Church,  common  to  human  actions  and  societies, 
which  are  to  be  ordered  by  the  light  of  nature  and 
Christian  prudence,  according  to  the  general  rules  of  the 
word.  These  relate  obviously  to  the  application  of  the 
principles  and  "  general  rules"  laid  down  in  Scripture 
for  our  guidance  in  worship  and  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment to    the   varying   times   and   circumstances   of  the 


RELIGIOUS    WORSHIP,    AND   THE   SABBATH-DAY.      369 


case  in  hand.  But  we  have  in  no  case  any  right,  upon 
the  ground  of  taste,  fashion  or  expediency,  to  go  beyond 
the  clear  warrant  of  Scripture. 

3d.  That  the  divine  worship  is  to  be  addressed  equally 
to  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  follows  necessarily  from 
what  we  have  proved  under  Chapter  ii.,  §  3 — that  Fa- 
ther, Son  and  Holy  Ghost  being  distinct  persons,  are 
yet  each  equally,  in  the  same  absolute  sense,  the  one 
supreme  God.  That  God  can  now  be  acceptably  ap- 
proached only  through  a  Mediator  is  proved  by  what 
we  have  already  proved  (a)  as  to  the  guilt  of  man  by 
nature  and  in  consequence  of  habitual  transgression, 
(b)  as  to  the  justice  of  God,  and  (c)  as  to  the  fact  that 
God  has  from  eternity  determined  to  deal  with  men,  as 
the  subjects  of  redemption,  only  through  a  Mediator. 
If  Christ  as  our  High  Priest  truly  represents  the  elect 
before  the  Father,  in  obeying  and  suffering  vicariously 
in  their  stead  and  in  making  intercession  in  their  behalf, 
and  if  he  is  the  medium  through  which  all  gracious 
benefits  come  to  us  from  God,  it  follows  that  all  our 
approaches  to  God  should  be  made  through  him.  That 
God  is  the  only  proper  subject  of  worship,  and  that 
Christ  is  the  only  Mediator  through  whom  we  may 
approach  God,  will  be  shown  under  the  next  head. 

4th.  Religious  worship  is  upon  no  pretence  to  be  of- 
fered to  angels,  nor  to  saints,  nor  to  any  other  creature, 
nor  to  God  through  any  other  mediator  save  Christ 
alone. 

The  most  authoritative  Standards  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  teach — (a.)  That  the  Virgin  Mary,  saints  and 
angels  are  to  receive  true  religious  worship,  in  propor- 
tion to  their  respective  ranks,     (b.)  That  they  are  to  be 

24 


370  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

invoked  to  help  us  in  our  times  of  need.*  (c.)  That  they 
are  to  be  invoked  to  intercede  with  God  or  with  Christ 
for  us.  (d.)  Some  of  their  most  authoritative  books  of 
worship  teach  that  God  is  to  be  asked  to  save  and  help 
us  on  the  ground  of  the  merits  of  the*  saints;  (e)  that 
the  pictures,  images  and  relics  of  saints  and  martyrs  are 
to  be  retained  in  churches  and  worshipped. f 

To  avoid  the  charge  of  idolatry  made  upon  them  for 
these  practices,  they  distinguish  between  (a)  Latvia,  or 
the  highest  religious  worship,  which  is  due  to  God  alone, 
and  (b)  Doulia,  or  that  inferior  religious  worship  which 
is  due  in  various  degrees  to  saints  and  angels,- according 
to  their  rank.  Some  also  mark  a  middle  degree  of  wor- 
ship, which  is  due  to  the  Virgin  Mary  alone,  by  the  term 
Hyperdoidia.  They  also  distinguish  between  (a)  that  di- 
rect worship  which  is  due  severally  to  God,  to  the  Virgin 
or  to  the  saints  and  angels,  and  (6)  that  indirect  worship 
which  terminates  upon  the  picture  or  image  which  rep- 
resents to  the  worshipper  the  direct  object  of  his  worship. 

The  objection  to  this  entire  system  is — 

(1.)  That  it  has,  neither  as  a  whole  nor  in  any  element 
(>f  it,  a  shadow  of  support  in  Scripture. 

(2.)  That  the  reasons  for  worshipping  God  apply  to 
the  worship  of  no  other  being.  That  reason  and  revela- 
tion unite  in  teaching  us  that  a  Being  of  infinite  and  abso- 
lute  perfection,  our  Creator,  Preserver  and  moral  Gov- 
ernor, stands  apart  from  all  other  objects,  and  therefore  is 
not  to  be  classed  as  an  object  of  worship  with  any  other. 

*  Council  of  Trent,  Sess.  25 :  "  Bonura  atque  utile  esse,  ....  ad 
eorum  orationes,  opem,  auxiliunique  confugere."  Cat.  Rom.,  iii.  2, 
10;  iv.  5,  8;  and  iii.  2,  8. 

f  Council  of  Trent,  Sess.  25 ;  Cat.  Rom.  iii  2,  23,  and  iii.  2,  8. 


RELIGIOUS    WORSHIP,    AND    THE   SABBATH-DAY.       371 

(3.)  The  sin  of  worshipping  other  gods  and  angels  is 
explicitly  forbidden.  Ex.  xx.  3,  5;  Col.  ii.  18.  When 
the  people  of  Lystra  proposed  to  worship  Saint  Paul 
and  Saint  Barnabas,  "  they  rent  their  clothes  and  ran 
among  the  people,  saying,"  "  We  also  are  men,"  u  and 
preach  unto  you  that  ye  should  turn  from  these  vanities 
unto  the  living  God."  Acts  xiv.  14,  15. 

(4.)  The  worship  of  images,  or  of  God,  Christ  or 
saints  by  images,  is  forbidden  in  the  Second  Command- 
ment. Ex.  xx.  4,  5. 

(5.)  The  distinctions  they  make  between  the  different 
degrees  of  worship  due  to  God  and  to  holy  creatures, 
and  between  the  indirect  worship  which  terminates  upon 
the  image  or  picture  and  the  direct  worship  which  ter- 
minates upon  the  person  represented  by  it,  are  not  their 
peculiar  property,  but,  as  every  missionary  to  the  hea- 
then knows,  are  common  to  them  with  the  educated 
class  among  all  idolaters.  If  the  Romanists  be  not 
idolaters,  the  sins  forbidden  in  the  First  and  Second 
Commandments  have  never  been  committed. 

(6.)  The  invocation  of  the  saints  is  a  pure  absurdity, 
for  unless  they  are  omnipresent  and  omniscient,  they 
cannot  hear  us,  and  in  many  cases,  unless  they  are  om- 
nipotent, they  cannot  help  us.  The  Romish  explanation, 
that  God  may  perhaps  tell  the  saints  what  we  pray,  in 
order  that  the  saints  may  in  turn  tell  God,  is  worthy 
of  the  doctrine  it  explains. 

(7.)  The  saints  and  angels  are  not  mediators  between 
us  and  God  or  us  and  Christ,  because  (a)-  it  is  explicitly 
asserted  that  Christ  is  the  only  Mediator  between  God 
and  man.  1  Tim.  ii.  5.  (b.)  Christ  has  exhaustively 
discharged    every  requisite    mediatorial   function,  both 


572  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

on  earth  and  in  heaven.  Heb.  ix.  12,  24;  vii.  25;  x. 
14.  (c.)  Because  we  are  "complete"  in  Christ,  and  we 
are  exhorted  to  come  immediately  to  God  through 
Christ,  and  to  come  with  the  utmost  boldness  and  sense 
of  liberty.  Col.  ii.  10;  Eph.  ii.  18;  iii.  12;  Heb.  iv.  16; 
x.  19-21.  The  very  suggestion  of  supplementing  the 
work  of  Jesus  Christ  with  that  of  other  mediators  is 
infinitely  derogatory  to  him.  (d.)  There  can  be  no  room 
for  intercessors  between  us  and  Christ,  because  Christ  is 
our  tender  Brother  (Matt.  xi.  28),  and  because  it  is  the 
office  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  draw  men  to  Christ.  John 
vi.  44;  xvi.  13,  14.  (e.)  Even  if  there  was  need  for 
other  mediators,  the  saints  would  not  be  fit  for  the 
place.  They  are  absent;  they  cannot  hear  when  we 
cry.  They  are  dependent;  they  cannot  help  others.  As 
we  have  seen,  they  have  no  supererogatory  merits,  and 
therefore  cannot  lay  in  our  behalf  a  foundation  for  our 
acceptance  with  God.  They  are  busy  worshipping  and 
enjoying  Christ  in  person,  and  have  neither  the  time, 
the  opportunity  nor  the  ability  to  manage  the  affairs 
of  the  world. 

Section  III. — Prayer  with  thanksgiving,  being  one  special 
part  of  religious  worship,6  is  by  God  required  of  all  men  ;7  and, 
that  it  may  be  accepted,  it  is  to  be  made  in  the  name  of  the  Son,8 
by  the  help  of  his  Spirit,9  according  to  his  will,10  with  under- 
standing, reverence,  humility,  fervency,  faith,  love  and  persever- 
ance ;u  and,  if  vocal,  in  a  known  tongue.12 

Section  IV. — Prayer  is  to  be  made  for  things  lawful,13  and 
for  all  sorts  of  men  living,  or  that  shall  live  hereafter;14  but  not 
foi  the  dead,15  nor  for  those  of  whom  it  may  be  known  that  they 
have  sinned  the  sin  unto  death.16 

6  Phil  iy.  6.—'  Ps.  lxv.  2.— 8  John  xiv.  13,  14;  1  Pet.  ii.  5.— 9  Rom.  viii. 
26.— w  1  John  v.  14.— «  Ps.  xlvii.  7 ;  Eccles.  v.  1,  2  ;  Heb.  xii.  28  ;  Gea. 
xviii.  27;  James  v.  16  ;  i.  6,  7;  Mark  xi.  24  ;  Matt.  vi.  12,  14,  15  ;  Col.  if. 


RELIGIOUS    WORSHIP,  AND   THE   SABBATH-DAY.       373 

2;  Eph.  vi.  IS.— 12  1  Cor.  xiv.  14.— 13  1  John  v.  14.— 14  1  Tim.  ii.  1,  2; 
John  xvii.  20;  2  Sara.  vii.  29;  Ruth  iv.  12.— ™  2  Sam.  xii.  21-23;  Luke 
xvi.  25,  26;  Rev.  xiv.  13.— l6  1  John  v.  16. 

Our  Confession  having  established  the  general  truth 
as  to  the  object  to  whom  religious  worship  is  to  be 
rendered,  and  as  to  the  source  of  our  knowledge  of  its 
nature  and  proper  methods,  now  proceeds  to  state  more 
particularly  what  the  Scriptures  teach  on  this  subject. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  That  prayer  is  a  principal  part  of  religious  wor- 
ship. The  word  "  prayer"  is  used  constantly  in  a  more 
general  and  a  more  specific  sense.  In  its  more  specific 
sense  it  is  equivalent  to  supplication,  the  act  of  the  soul 
engaged  in  presenting  its  desires  to  God,  and  asking  God 
to  gratify  them  and  to  supply  all  the  necessities  of  the 
supplicant.  In  its  general  sense,  prayer  is  used  to  ex- 
press every  act  of  the  soul  engaged  in  spiritual  inter- 
course with  God.  In  this  sense  the  main  elements  it 
embraces  are  (a)  adoration,  (6)  confession,  (c)  supplica- 
tion, (d)  intercession,  (e)  thanksgiving.  Thus  prayer  in 
its  wide  sense  includes  all  direct  acts  of  worship.  And 
hymns  and  psalms  of  praise  are  in  their  essence  only 
metrical  and  musically-uttered  prayers. 

2d.  The  Confession  here  asserts  that  prayer  is  required 
of  all  men.  This  is  absolutely  true,  even  of  the  heathen 
who  know  not  God,  and  of  the  unregenerate  who  are 
morally  unable  to  pray  in  a  manner  pleasing  to  God, 
because  neither  our  knowledge  of  moral  truths  nor  our 
moral  ability  to  do  what  is  right  is  the  measure  of  our 
responsibility.  The  duty  of  prayer  is  a  natural  duty 
growing  out  of  our  natural  relations  to  God,  manifested 
by  the  natural  conscience,  and  enjoined   in    the   Scrip- 


374  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

tures  upon  all  men  indiscriminately.  1  Thest  v.  17; 
Acts  viii.  22,  23  ;  Luke  xi.  9-13.  We  are  told  not 
only  to  pray  after  we  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  to 
p ray  also  that  we  may  receive  him. 

3d.  In  order  that  prayer  may  be  acceptable  to  God  and 
effectual,  it  is  here  taught  that  it  is  necessary  (])  that  it 
should  be  offered  through  the  mediation  of  Christ.  It 
has  been  shown  above,  under  §§  1  and  2,  that  all  relig- 
ious worship  must  be  presented  through  Christ — that  is, 
relying  upon  his  merits,  and  approaching  God  through 
his  present  personal  intercession.  Prayer  is  a  kind  of 
religious  worship.  What,  therefore,  is  true  of  the  class  is 
true  of  all  its  elements.  Besides,  this  truth  follows  from 
all  that  is  revealed  of  our  redemption  through  the  merits 
of  Clrrist,  and  is  directly  taught  in  Scripture.  John 
xiv.  13,  14;  xvi.  23,  24.  (2.)  It  must  be  made  by 
the  help  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  same  word  "paraclete 
is  applied  to  Christ  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost;  it  is  trans- 
lated when  applied  to  Christ  advocate  (1  John  ii.  1),  and 
comforter  when  applied  to  the  Holy  Ghost.  John  xiv. 
16.  Thus  Christ  as  our  Advocate  makes  intercession 
for  us  in  heaven  (Rom.  viii.  34);  the  Holy  Ghost  as  our 
Advocate  makes  intercession  within  us,  inditing  our 
prayers,  kindling  our  desires  for  that  which  is  according 
to  the  will  of  God,  and  thus  maintaining  harmony  in 
the  constant  current  of  petition  ascending  from  Christ 
the  head  in  heaven  and  his  members  on  earth  Rom. 
viii.  26,  27.  (3.)  It  is  essential  to  acceptaole  prayer 
tnat  the  heart  of  the  worshipper  should  be  in  the  proper 
state,  and  that  his  prayer  be  offered  in  reverence  for  the 
majesty  and  moral  perfections  of  God;  humility,  because 
of  our  guilt  and  pollution;  submission  to  his  will;  con- 


6iO 

fidonce  in  his  ability  and  willingness  to  help  us,  and 
upon  his  covenanted  grace;  intelligent  apprehension  of 
the  relitions  we  sustain,  the  nature  of  the  service  we 
are  engaged  in,  and  the  subject-matter  of  our  prayer  and 
objects  of  petition  ;  and  real  earnestness  and  fervency 
of  heart,  corresponding  fully  to  all  the  words  whereby 
our  prayer  is  expressed,  and  with  importunity  and  per- 
severance. Luke  xviii.  1—8.  And  when  the  prayer  is 
common  between  two  or  more  persons,  it  is  self-evident 
that  it  must  be  expressed  in  a  language  common  to  all ; 
otherwise,  it  must  cease  to  be  in  any  sense  the  prayer 
of  those  who  fail  to  understand  it.  This  point  is  aimed 
at  the  Romish  custom  of  uttering  many  of  her  public 
prayers  in  Latin,  which  to  the  vast  majority  of  her 
worshippers  is  an  unknown  tougue.  This  is  explicitly 
forbidden.  1  Cor.  xiv.  1—10. 

4th.  As  to  the  objects  of  petition,  we  are  here  taught 
that  they  cover  the  whole  ground  of  things  that  are  at 
once  desirable  and  lawful.  This  is  self-evident,  be- 
cause we  depend  upon  God  for  all  things,  and  therefore 
should  ask  him  for  everything  we  need,  yet  of  course 
giving  a  precedence  in  our  desires  for  the  "best  things," 
"  seeking  first  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  God's  right- 
eousness." Desires  for  unlawful  things  are  of  course 
unlawful  desires,  and  should  be  laid  aside  and  repented 
of.  Even  concerning  those  things  which  it  is  in  general 
lawful  for  us  to  desire,  there  may  be  in  many  instances 
uncertainty  whether  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  we  should 
have  them  at  the  time  and  in  the  way  we  desire.  In 
every  such  case  we  should,  of  course,  make  our  petitions 
conditional  upon  God's  will,  as  our  blessed  Lord  did 
in  Gethsemane.  Luke  xxii.  42 ;  1  John  v.  14. 


376  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

As  to  the  subjects  of  intercession,  we  are  taught  to  pray 
for  all  men  living  or  to  live.  1  Tim.  ii.  1,  2;  John  xvii. 
20.  But  not  for  those  already  dead,  nor  for  those  known 
to  have  committed  the  unpardonable  sin. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Romish  Church  concerning  prayers 
for  the  dead  is  a  dependent  part  of  their  doctrine  con- 
cerning the  state  of  the  souls  of  men  after  death.  They 
hold  that  those  who  are  perfect  at  the  time  of  death  go 
immediately  to  heaven.  Those  who  are  infidels  or  die 
in  mortal  sin  go  immediately  to  hell.  But  the  great 
mass  of  imperfect  Christians  go  to  purgatory ,  where  they 
must  stay  until  they  get  fit  for  heaven.  Concerning 
purgatory,  the  Council  of  Trent  teaches — (a.)  That  there 
is  a  purifying  fire  through  which  imperfect  Christian 
souls  must  pass,  (b.)  That  the  souls  temporarily  suffer- 
ing therein  may  be  materially  benefited  by  the  prayers 
of  their  fellow-Christians  and  the  masses  offered  up  in 
their  behalf  on  earth.* 

But  if  there  is  no  purgatory,  as  will  be  shown  under 
Chapter  xxxii.,  there  can  be  no  prayers  for  the  dead, 
since  those  in  heaven  need  no  intercession,  and  for  those 
in  hell  none  can  avail.  It  is  as  presumptuous  as  it  is 
futile  to  assail  the  throne  of  God  with  supplications 
"  when  once  the  master  of  the  house  has  shut  to  the 
door."  Luke  xiii.  25.  The  Scriptures  teach  of  only 
two  states  of  existence  beyond  death,  and  a  great,  im- 
passable gulf  fixed  between.  Luke  xvi.  25,  26.  Besides, 
the  practice  of  praying  for  the  dead  has  no  warrant, 
direct  or  by  remote  implication,  in  Scripture. 

Section  V. — The  reading  of  the  Scriptures  with  godly  fear;n 
the  sound  preaching,18  and  conscionable  hearing  of  the  Word,  in 


RELIGIOUS   WORSHIP,  AND    THE   SABBATH-DAT.      377 

obedience  unto  God,  with  understanding,  faith,  and  reverence  ;u 
singing  of  psalms  with  jrrace  in  the  heart;20  as  also  the  due  ad- 
ministration and  worthy  receiving  of  the  sacraments  instituted  by 
Christ;  are  all  parts  of  the  ordinary  religious  worship  of  God  :21 
besides  religious  oaths,22  and  vows,23  solemn  fastings,24  and  thanks- 
givings upon  special  occasions,25  which  are,  in  their  several  times 
and  seasons,  to  be  used  in  an  holy  and  religious  manner.26 

Section  VI. — Neither  prayer,  nor  any  other  part  of  religious 
worship,  is,  now  under  the  gospel,  either  tied  unto,  or  made  more 
acceptable  by,  any  place  in  which  it  is  performed,  or  toward 
which  it  is  directed  :27  but  God  is  to  be  worshipped  everywhere,28 
in  spirit  and  in  truth  ;29  as  in  private  families,30  daily,31  and  in 
secret  each  one  by  himself;32  so  more  solemnly  in  the  public  as- 
semblies, which  are  not  carelessly  or  wilfully  to  be  neglected  or 
forsaken,  when  God,  by  his  word  or  providence,  calleth  there- 
unto. ** 

"Acts  xv.  21;  Rev.  i.  3.— 182  Tim.  iv.  2.— "James  i.  22;  Acts  x.  33; 
Matt.  xiii.  19;  Hob.  iv.  2;  Isa.  Ixvi.  2.— 20  Col.  iii.  16;  Eph.  v.  19;  James 
v.  13.— «•  Matt,  xxviii.  19;  1  Cor.  xi.  23-29;  Acts  ii.  42.— 22  Deut.  vi.  13; 
Neb.x.29.— 23Isa.  xix.21;  Eccles.  v.  4,  5.— 2t  Joel  ii.  12;  Esth.iv.  15;  Matt. 
ix.  15:  1  Cor.  vii.  5.— 2»  Ps.  cvii.;  Esth.  ix.  22.— 2<5  Heb.  xii.  28.— "  John  iv. 
21.— 28  Mai.  i.  11 ;  1  Tim.  ii.  8.— ^  John  iv.  23,  24.— 30  Jer.  x.  25  ;  Deut.  xi. 
6,  7  ;  Job  i.  5  ;  2  Sam.  vi.  18-20 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  7  ;  Acts  x.  2.— 31  Matt.  vi.  1 1.— 
32  Matt.  vi.  6;  Eph.  vi.  18.— 33  Isa.  lvi.  6,  7  ;  Heb.  x.  25  ;  Prov.  i.  20,  21,  24  ; 
viii.  34;  Acts  xiii.  42;  Luke  iv.  16;  Acts  ii.  42. 

These  Sections  proceed  to  particularize  the  different 
ways  in  which  God  requires  us  under  the  present  dis- 
pensation to  worship  him.  These  are  the  regular  and 
the  occasional  acts  of  worship.  The  regular  worship  of 
God  is  to  be  conducted  in  the  public  assembly,  in  the 
private  family  and  personally  in  secret.  The  worship 
of  God  in  the  public  assembly  is  to  consist  in  the  read- 
ing, preaching  and  hearing  of  the  Word,  prayer,  singing 
of  psalms  and  the  administration  and  receiving  of  the 
sacraments  instituted  by  him.  In  the  Word,  read  or 
properly  preached   God  speaks  to  us,  and   we  worship 


Oib  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

him  by  hearing  with  reverence,  diligent  attention  and 
self-application  and  obedience.  In  prayer  and  the 
singing  of  praise  we  address  to  God  the  holy  affections, 
desires  and  thanksgiving  inspired  in  our  hearts  jy  his 
Holy  Spirit.  In  the  sacraments  God  communes  with 
and  enters  into  covenant  with  our  souls,  and  we  com- 
mune with  and  enter  into  covenant  with  him.  And  the 
acceptability  of  this  worship  depends  not  at  all,  as 
Ritualists  fondly  imagine,  upon  the  sanctity  of  the  place 
in  which  it  is  rendered  or  the  direction  in  which  it  is 
addressed.  The  dispensation  in  which  worship  was 
limited  to  holy  places,  persons  and  seasons  has  been 
done  away  with  by  our  Lord,  as  we  have  seen  under 
Chapters  vii.  and  xix.,  and  as  Christ  plainly  teaches 
the  woman  of  Samaria.  John  iv.  20-24.  But  its  ac- 
ceptance depends  upon  (a)  its  being  accompanied  witli 
and  founded  upon  the  pure,  unadulterated  truth  of  God's 
word;  (b)  its  being  the  fruit  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  re- 
sult of  enlightened,  reverent  and  fervent  love;  (c)  its 
being  offered  entirely  through  the  mediation  of  the  Lord 
Jesus. 

"  Besides  the  public  worship  in  congregations,  it  is 
the  indispensable  duty  of  each  person,  alone  in  secret, 
and  of  every  family  by  itself  in  private,  to  pray  to  and 
worship  God. 

"Secret  worship  is  most  plainly  enjoined  by  our  Lord. 
Matt.  vi.  6 ;  Eph.  vi.  18.  In  this  duty  every  one, 
apart  by  himself,  is  to  spend  some  time  in  prayer,  read- 
ing the  Scriptures,  holy  meditation  and  serious  self-ex- 
amination. The  many  advantages  arising  from  a  con- 
scientious discharge  of  these  duties  are  best  known  to 
those  who  are  found  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  them. 


RELIGIOUS   WORSHIP,   AND   THE   SABBATH-DAY.      379 

"Family  worship,  which  ought  to  be  performed  by 
every  family,  ordinarily  morning  and  evening,  consists 
in  prayer,  reading  the  Scriptures  and  singing  praises. 

"  The  head  of  the  family,  who  is  to  lead  in  this  ser- 
vice, ought  to  be  careful  that  all  the  members  of  his 
household  duly  attend;  and  that  none  withdraw  them- 
selves unnecessarily  from  any  part  of  family  worship; 
and  that  all  refrain  from  their  common  business  while 
the  Scriptures  are  read,  and  gravely  attend  to  the  same, 
no  less  than  when  prayer  and  praise  is  offered  up. 

"  Let  the  heads  of  families  be  careful  to  instruct  their 
children  and  servants  in  the  principles  of  religion. 
Every  proper  opportunity  ought  to  be  embraced  for 
such  instruction.  But  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  Sab- 
bath evenings,  after  public  worship,  should  be  sacredly 
preserved  for  this  purpose.  Therefore,  we  highly  dis- 
approve of  paying  unnecessary  private  visits  on  the 
Lord's  day;  admitting  strangers  into  the  families,  ex- 
cept when  necessity  or  charity  requires  it ;  or  any  other 
practices,  whatever  plausible  pretences  may  be  offered 
in  their  favour,  if  they  interfere  with  the  above  important 
and  necessary  duty."  Directory  for  Worship,  chap.  xv. 

The  occasional  modes  by  which  God  may  be  in  proper 
seasons  worshipped  are  such  as  religious  oaths,  and 
vows,  and  fasting,  and  special  thanksgiving.  Of  oaths 
and  vows  we  will  treat  under  Chapter  xxii.  Of  the 
propriety  and  usefulness  of  special  seasons  of  fasting 
and  of  thanksgiving,  the  examples  of  God's  word  (Ps. 
cvii ;  Matt.  ix.  15)  and  the  experience  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  modern  time  leave  no  room  for  doubt. 

Section  VII. — As  it  is  of  the  law  of  nature  that,  in  general, 
a  due  proportion  of  time  be  set  apart  for  the  worship  of  God; 


380  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

so,  in  his  word,  by  a  positive,  moral,  and  perpetual  command- 
ment, binding  all  men  in  all  ages,  lie  hath  particularly  ap- 
pointed one  day  in  seven  for  a  Sabbath,  to  be  kept  holy  unto 
him  ;3*  which,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  was  the  last  day  of  the  week ;  and ,  from  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  was  changed  into  the  first  day  of  the 
week,35  which  in  Scripture  is  called  the  Lord's  day,36  and  is  to  be 
continued  to  the  end  of  the  world  as  the  Christian  Sabbath.37 

Section  VIII. — This  Sabbath  is  then  kept  holy  unto  the 
Lord,  when  men,  after  a  due  preparing  of  their  hearts,  and 
ordering  of  their  common  affairs  beforehand,  do  not  only  observe 
an  holy  rest  all  the  day  from  their  own  works,  words  and  thoughts 
about  their  worldly  employments  and  recreations  ;38  but  also  are 
taken  up  the  whole  time  in  the  public  and  private  exercises  of 
his  worship,  and  in  the  duties  of  necessity  and  mercy.39 

34  Ex.  xx.  8,  10,  11;  Isa.  Ivi.  2,  4,  6,  7.— 35  Gen.  ii.  2,  3;  1  Cor.  xvi.  1, 
2 ;  Acts  xx.  7.— 36  Rev.  i.10. — 37  ex.  Xx.  8,  10  ;  Matt.  v.  17,  18.— 3»  Ex.  xx. 
8;  xvi.  23,  25,  26,  29,  30;  xxxi.  15-17;  Isa.  lviii.  13;  Neh.  xiii.  15-19,  21, 
22.— 39  Isa.  lviii.  13  ;  Matt.  xii.  1-13. 

Under  Chapter  xix.  we  saw  that  the  different  laws  of 
God,  when  classified  according  to  their  respective  grounds 
or  reasons,  might  be  grouped  as  follows:  (1.)  Those 
having  their  ground  in  the  divine  nature,  and  therefore 
universal  and  immutable.  (2.)  Those  having  their 
ground,  as  far  as  known  to  us,  simply  and  purely  in  the 
divine  will,  hence  called  positive  commandments,  and 
binding  only  so  far  and  so  long  as  commanded.  (3.) 
Those  having  their  ground  and  reason  in  the  temporary 
circumstances  to  which  they  were  adapted,  and  to  which 
alone  they  were  intended  to  apply,  so  that  they  cease  to 
be  binding  as  soon  as  those  circumstances  cease  to  exist. 
(4.)  Those  which  have  their  ground  in  the  universal 
and  permanent  state  and  relations  of  men  in  this  world, 
and  hence  are  intended  to  be  as  universal  and  as  per- 
manent as  those  relations. 


AND    THE   SABBATH-DAY.       381 

It  is  evident  that  the  scriptural  law  as  to  the  Sabbath 
comes  partly  under  the  fourth  and  partly  also  under  the 
second  of  these  classes. 

1st.  The  law  of  the  Sabbath  in  part  has  its  ground 
in  the  universal  and  permanent  needs  of  human  nature, 
and  especially  of  men  embraced  under  an  economy  of 
redemption.  It  is  designed — (a.)  To  keep  in  remem- 
brance the  fact  that  God  created  the  world  and  all  its 
inhabitants  (Gen.  ii.  2,  3;  Ex.  xx.  11),  which  is  the 
great  fundamental  fact  in  all  religion,  whether  natural 
or  revealed.  (6.)  As  changed  to  the  first  day  of  the 
week  it  is  designed  to  keep  in  remembrance  the  fact  of 
the  ascension  of  the  crucified  Redeemer  and  his  session 
at  the  right  hand  of  power,  the  great  central  fact  in  the 
religion  of  Christ,  (c.)  To  be  a  perpetual  type  of  the 
eternal  Sabbath  of  the  saints  which  remains.  Heb.  iv. 
3-11.  (d.)  To  afford  a  suitable  time  for  the  public  and 
private  worship  of  God  and  the  religious  instruction  of 
the  people,  (e.)  To  afford  a  suitable  period  of  rest  from 
the  wear  and  tear  of  labour,  which  is  rendered  alike 
physically  and  morally  necessary  from  the  present  con- 
stitution of  human  nature  and  from  the  condition  of 
man  in  this  world. 

All  of  these  reasons  for  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath 
have  their  ground  in  human  nature,  and  remain  in  full 
force  among  all  men  of  all  nations  in  all  stages  of  intel- 
lectual and  moral  development.  Hence  the  Sabbath 
was  introduced  as  a  divine  institution  at  the  creation  of 
the  race,  and  was  then  enjoined  upon  man  as  man,  and 
hence  upon  the  race  generally  and  in  perpetuity.  Gen. 
ii.  2,  3.  Hence  we  find  that  the  Jews  (Gen.  vii.  10; 
viii.  10;  xxix.  27,  28;  Job  ii.  13),  and  all  Gentile  na« 


382  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

tions  also,  as  the  Egyptians,  Arabians,  Indians,  etc., 
divided  their  time  by  weeks,  or  periods  of  seven  days, 
from  the  earliest  ages.  Hence  before  the  giving  of  the 
law  the  Jews  were  required  to  observe  the  Sabbath.  Ex. 
xvi.  23.  Hence  also  the  law  with  respect  to  the  Sab- 
bath has  been  incorporated  into  the  Decalogue,  as  one 
of  the  ten  requirements  in  which  the  entire  moral  law, 
touching  all  our  relations  to  God  and  to  our  fellow-men, 
is  generalized  and  condensed.  It  was  written  by  the 
finger  of  God  on  stone.  It  is  put  side  by  side  with  the 
commandments  which  require  us  to  love  God,  to  honour 
his  name,  and  which  forbid  unchastity  and  murder.  It 
was  put  as  a  part  of  the  "  testimonies  of  God"  under 
the  "  mercy-seat"  at  the  foundation  of  his  throne.  And 
hence,  when  the  great  commandment  is  uttered,  God 
does  not  say,  "  I  appoint  to  you  a  Sabbath-day,"  but 
M  Remember  the  Sabbath-day  to  keep  it  holy,"  evidently 
implying  that  he  was  referring  to  a  well-known  and 
pre-existent  institution  common  to  the  Jews  with  the 
Gentiles.  And  the  reason  annexed  for  the  enactment 
of  the  law  is  not  a  fact  peculiar  to  Jewish  history,  but 
a  fact  underlying  all  the  relations  God  sustains  to  the 
entire  race,  and,  as  before  shown,  the  fact  out  of  which 
the  Sabbatic  institution  had  originated  thousands  of 
years  before,  "  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven 
and  earth,  the  sea,"  etc.  So  Christ  says,  "  The  Sabbath 
was  made  for  man/'-t.  e.,  for  mankind.  Mark  ii.  27. 

2d.  The  law  of  the  Sabbath,  in  fact,  is  a  positive 
commandment,  having  its  ground  in  the  will  of  God  as 
supreme  Lord.  That  a  certain  portion  of  time  should 
be  set  apart  for  the  worship  of  God  and  the  religious 
instruction  of  men  is  a  plain  dictate  of  reason.     That  a 


RELIGIOUS   WORSHIP,  AND   THE   SABBATH-DAY.      383 

certain  portion  of  time  should  be  set  apart  for  rest  from 
labour  is  by  experience  found  to  be,  on  physiological  and 
moral  grounds,  highly  desirable.  That  some  monument 
of  the  creation  of  the  world  and  of  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  and  that  some  permanent  and  frequently-recur- 
ring type  of  the  rest  of  heaven,  should  be  instituted,  is 
eminently  desirable  for  man,  considered  as  a  religious 
being.  But  that  all  these  ends  should  be  combined  and 
secured  by  one  institution,  and  that  precisely  one  whole 
day  in  seven  should  be  allotted  to  that  purpose,  and 
that  this  one  day  in  seven  should  be  at  one  time  the 
seventh  and  afterward  the  first  day  of  the  week,  is  evi- 
dently a  matter  of  positive  enactment,  and  binds  us  as 
long  as  the  indications  of  the  divine  will  in  the  matter 
remain  unchanged. 

The  time  of  observance  was  changed  from  the  seventh 
to  the  first  day  of  the  week  in  the  age  of  the  apostles, 
and  consequently  with  their  sanction ;  and  that  day,  as 
"the  Lord's  day"  (Rev.  i.  10),  has  ever  since  been  ob- 
served in  the  stead  of  the  ancient  Sabbath  in  all  por- 
tions and  ages  of  the  Christian  Church.  We  accept 
this  change  as  it  comes  to  us,  and  believe  it  to  be  ac- 
cording to  the  will  of  God,  because  (a)  of  its  apostolic 
origin,  (6)  of  the  transcendent  importance  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  which  is  thus  associated  with  the 
creation  of  the  world  by  God,  as  the  foundation  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  (c)  because  of  the  universal  con- 
sent of  Christians  of  all  generations  and  denominations, 
and  the  approbation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that  dwelleth 
in  them  that  is  implied  thereby. 

As  to  the  observance  of  the  Christian  Sabbath,  the 
obvious  general  rule  is,  that  it  is  to  be  observed,  (1)  not 


384  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

in  the  spirit  of  the  law,  which  Christ  condemns  (Matt 
xii.  1 ;  Luke  xiii.  15),  but  in  the  holy  and  free  spirn 
of  the  gospel,  (2)  in  accordance  with  the  ends  for  which 
it  is  instituted,  and  which  have  been  above  enumerated. 
Since  God  has  appointed  the  Sabbath  to  be  one  day 
in  seven,  we  should  consecrate  the  whole  day,  without 
curtailment  or  alienation,  to  the  purpose  designed — that 
is,  rest  from  worldly  labour,  the  worship  of  God  and 
the  religious  instruction  of  our  fellow-men.  We  should 
be  diligent  in  using  the  whole  day  for  these  purposes, 
and  to  avoid,  and,  as  far  as  lieth  in  us,  lead  our  fellow- 
men  to  avoid,  all  that  hinders  the  most  profitable  appli- 
cation of  the  day  to  its  proper  ends.  And  nothing  is  to 
be  allowed  to  interfere  with  this  consecration  of  the  day 
except  the  evident  and  reasonable  demands  of  necessity 
as  far  as  our  own  interests  are  concerned,  and  of  mercy 
as  far  as  the  necessities  of  our  fellow-men  and  of  de- 
pendent animals  are  concerned. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  and  second 
Sections? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  tliird  there  taught? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth  there  taught? 

5.  Show  that  it  is  a  dictate  of  natural  conscience  that  God 
should  be  worshipped. 

6.  What  are  the  grounds  of  the  obligation? 

7.  Show  the  reasons  why  we  are  shut  up  to  worship  God  in 
those  ways  only  which  he  has  prescribed? 

8.  How  far,  according  to  our  Confession,  is  our  manner  of  wor« 
shipping  God  left  open  to  our  discretion? 

9.  State  the  only  proper  object  of  worship. 


RELIGIOUS    WORSHIP.  AND   THE   SABBATH-DAY.       385 

10.  Prove  that  God  can,  since  the  fall,  be  approached  by  men 
>nly  through  a  Mediator. 

11.  What  do  the  Standards  of  the  Romish  Church  teach  as  to 
the  worship  and  invocation  of  the  Virgin  and  of  saints  and  angels? 

12.  What  distinction  do  they  make  between  the  different  kinds 
of  worship  due  to  God  and  to  creatures? 

1 3.  What  distinction  do  they  make  between  the  different  kinds 
of  worship  to  be  rendered  to  an  image  or  picture  and  to  the  per- 
son thereby  represented  ? 

14.  Show  that  the  worship  of  saints  and  angels  is  not  com- 
manded and  is  not  approved  by  reason,  and  is  forbidden. 

15.  Do  the  same  with  respect  to  the  worship  of  images. 

16.  Show  that  the  Romanists  do  not  differ  from  other  idolaters. 

17.  Show  why  the  invocation  of  saints  is  a  pure  absurdity. 

18.  Prove  that  saints  and  angels  are  not  mediators  between  us 
and  God,  or  between  us  and  Christ. 

19.  To  what  does  the  Confession  proceed  in  the  third  and  fourth 
Sections  of  this  Chapter  ? 

20.  What  is  the  first  proposition  here  taught? 

21.  In  what  two  different  degrees  of  latitude  is  the  word  prayer 
used? 

22.  What  elements  are  embraced  in  the  wider  sense  of  the 
term? 

23.  Who,  according  to  the  Confession,  ought  to  pray? 

24.  Show  why  even  the  unregenerate  ought  to  pray? 

25.  Show  that  in  order  to  be  acceptable  prayer  must  be  offered 
through  Christ. 

26.  Show  that  it  must  be  offered  with  the  help  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

27.  What  state  of  mind  is  n&cessary  on  the  part  of  one  ap- 
proaching God  in  prayer? 

28.  Why  should  all  social  vocal  prayer  be  offered  in  a  known 
tongue  ? 

29.  What  is  said  as  to  the  objects  for  which  we  may  pray? 

30.  Of  things  lawful  what  is  to  have  precedence  in  our  prayers, 
and  why? 

31.  What  relation  should  our  desires  expressed  in  prayer  sus- 
tain to  the  will  of  God? 

25 


386  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

32.  For  whom  ought  we  to  intercede  ? 

33.  Prove  that  it  is  right  to  pray  for  those  not  yet  born. 

34.  What  is  the  Romish  doctrine  as  to  the  intermediate  state 
and  prayers  for  the  dead  ? 

35.  Prove  that  their  doctrine  is  false. 

36.  What  two  general  classes  of  acts  of  worship  are  spoken  of 
in  the  fifth  and  sixth  Sections? 

37.  Into  what  two  classes  are  the  acts  concerned  in  the  regular 
worship  of  God  subdivided  ? 

38.  Of  what  elements  does  the  regular  public  worship  of  God 
consist? 

39.  Upon  what  does  the  acceptability  of  this  worship  not 
depend  ? 

40.  Upon  what  does  it  depend. 

41.  What  does  our  Directory  of  Worship  teach  as  to  secret 
worship? 

42.  What  does  it  teach  as  to  family  worship? 

43.  What  as  to  the  instruction  of  children  and  servants,  as  to 
the  persons  upon  whom  the  obligation  rests,  and  as  to  the  proper 
time  for  the  performance  of  the  duty  ? 

44.  What  are  the  kinds  of  action  by  which  God  may  be  occa- 
sionally worshipped  ? 

45.  How  may  the  different  laws  of  God  be  classified? 

46.  To  which  class  does  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  belong  ? 

47.  State  the  different  ends  the  Sabbath  is  designed  to  sub- 
serve. 

48.  Show  from  the  nature  of  these  ends  that  it  is  designed  to 
be  perpetual  and  universal. 

49.  Show  that  the  Sabbath  was  originally  enjoined  upon  man- 
kind in  general,  and  that  it  is  not  an  institution  peculiar  to  the 
Jews. 

50.  Show  the  same  from  the  history  of  its  subsequent  promul- 
gation and  observance. 

51.  What  elements  of  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  are  purely 
positive  ? 

52.  When  and  why  was  the  time  of  observance  changed  from 
the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week  ? 


RELIGIOUS   WORSHIP,  AND    THE   SABBATH  DAY.       387 

53.  State  the  reasons  for  our  believing  that  this  change  cor- 
responds with  the  will  of  God. 

54.  State  the  Jirst  general  principle  which  determines  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  Sabbath  is  to  be  observed. 

55.  State  the  second  general  principle  which  determines  the 
same. 

56.  Why  should  the  whole  day  be  devoted  to  the  special  ends 
of  the  Sabbath  ? 

57.  State  the  only  exceptions  allowed. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

OF   LAWFUL   OATHS   AND   VOWS. 

Section  I. — A  lawful  oath  is  a  part  of  religious  worship, 
wherein,  upon  just  occasion,  the  person  swearing- solemnly  calletb 
God  to  witness  what  he  asserteth  or  promiseth ;  and  to  judge  him 
according  to  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  what  he  sweareth.2 

Section  II. — The  name  of  God  only  is  that  by  which  men 
ought  to  swear,  and  therein  it  is  to  be  used  with  all  holy  fear  and 
reverence  :s  therefore  to  swear  vainly  or  rashly  by  that  glorious 
and  dreadful  name,  or  to  swear  at  all  by  any  other  thing,  is  sinful, 
and  to  be  abhorred.4  Yet  as,  in  matters  of  weight  and  moment, 
an  oath  is  warranted  by  the  word  of  God  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  well  as  under  the  Old  ;6  so  a  lawful  oath  being  imposed 
by  a  lawful  authority,  in  such  matters,  ought  to  be  taken.6 

Section  III. — Whosoever  taketh  an  oath,  ought  duly  to  con- 
sider the  weightiness  of  so  solemn  an  act,  and  therein  to  avouch 
nothing  but  what  he  is  fully  persuaded  is  the  truth.7  Neither 
may  any  man  bind  himself  by  oath  to  anything  but  what  is  good 
and  just,  and  what  he  believeth  so  to  be,  and  what  he  is  able  and 
resolved  to  perform.8  Yet  it  is  a  sin  to  refuse  an  oath  touching 
anything  that  is  good  and  just,  being  imposed  by  lawful  authority.* 

Section  IV. — An  oath  is  to  be  taken  in  the  plain  and  com- 
mon sense  of  the  words,  without  equivocation  or  mental  reserva- 
tion.10 It  cannot  oblige  to  sin ;  but  in  anything  not  sinful,  being 
taken,  it  binds  to  performance,  although  to  a  man's  own  hurt  i11 
nor  is  it  to  be  violated,  although  made  to  heretics  or  infidels.12 

1  Deut.  x.  20.— 2  Ex.  xx.  7;  Lev.  xix.  12;  2  Cor.  i.  23;  2  Chron.  vi. 
22,  23.— 3  Deut.  vi.  13.— *  Ex.  xx.  7;  Jer.  v.  7;  Matt.  v.  34,37;  James 
v.  12.— 6  Heb.  vi.  16  ;  2  Cor.  i.  23  ;  lea.  lxv.  16.— «  1  Kings  viii.  31 ;  Neh. 
xiii.  25  j  Ezra  x.  5.— 7  Ex.  xx.  7  ;  Jer.  iv.  2.— 8  Gen.  xxiv.  2,  3,  5,  6,  8,  9. 

338 


LAWFUL  OATHS  AND  VOWS.         389 

— *  Num.  v.  19,  21  j  Neh.  v.  12;  Ex.  xxii.  7-11.— 10  Jer.  iv.  2;  Ps.  xxiv. 
4._li  1  Sam.  xxv.  22,  32-34 }  Ps.  xv.  4.— 12  Ezek.  xvii.  16,  18,  19  j  Josh. 
ix.  18,  19 ;  2  Sam.  xxi.  1. 

The  subjects  treated  of  in  these  Sections  are — (a.) 
The  nature  of  a  lawful  oath,  (b.)  The  -only  name  in 
which  it  is  lawful  to  swear,  (c.)  The  propriety  and  duty 
of  taking  oaths  upon  the  proper  occasions,  (d.)  The 
sense  in  which  an  oath  is  to  be  interpreted.  And  (e)  The 
extent  and  grounds  of  its  binding  obligation. 

1st.  A  lawful  oath  consists  in  calling  upon  God,  the 
occasion  being  of  sufficient  seriousness  and  importance, 
to  witness  the  truth  of  what  we  affirm  as  true,  or  our 
voluntary  assumption  of  an  obligation  to  do  something 
in  the  future — with  an  implied  imprecation  of  God's 
disfavour  if  we  lie  or  prove  unfaithful  to  our  engage- 
ments. This  last  is  generally  expressed  by  the  phrase 
forming  the  concluding  part  of  the  formula  of  most 
oaths,  "  So  help  me  God,"  i.  e.t  Let  God  so  help  me  as 
I  have  told  the  truth,  or  as  I  will  keep  my  promise. 

Hence  an  oath  is  an  act  of  supreme  religious  worship, 
since  it  recognizes  the  omnipresence,  omniscience,  abso- 
lute justice  and  sovereignty  of  the  person  whose  august 
witness  is  invoked,  and  whose  judgment  is  appealed  to 
as  final. 

2d.  It  hence  follows  that  it  is  a  sin  equivalent  to  that 
of  worshipping  a  false  god  if  we  swear  by  any  other 
than  the  only  true  and  living  God,  and  a  sin  of  idolatry 
if  we  swear  by  any  thing  or  place,  although  it  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  true  God.  Those  who  swear  with  up- 
lifted hand  swear  by  the  God  who  created,  preserves  and 
governs  all  things.  Those  who  swear  with  hands  upon 
or  kissing  the  Bible,  swear  by  the  God  who  reveals  him- 


590  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

self  in  the  Bible — that  is,  by  the  true  Christian  God. 
It  is  evident  that  none  who  believe  in  the  true  God 
can,  consistently  with  their  integrity,  swear  by  a  false 
god.  And  it  is  no  less  evident  that  it  is  dishonest  for  an 
atheist  to  go  through  the  form  of  swearing  at  all,  or  for 
an  infidel  to  swear  with  his  hand  upon  the  Christian 
Scriptures,  thereby  professing  to  invoke  a  God  in  whose 
existence  he  does  not  believe. 

This  principle  is  fully  recognized  in  Scripture.  We 
are  told  to  swear  by  the  true  God:  "Unto  me  every 
knee  shall  bow  and  every  tongue  shall  swear,"  Isa.  xlv. 
23 ;  "  He  that  sweareth  in  the  earth  shall  swear  by  the 
God  of  truth,"  Isa.  lxv.  16 j  "  Thou  shalt  fear  Jehovah 
thy  God  and  serve  him,  and  swear  by  his  name,"  Deut. 
vi.  13.  We  are  forbidden  to  swear  by  the  name  of 
false  gods  :  "  How  shall  I  pardon  thee  for  this  ?  Thy 
children  have  forsaken  me  and  sworn  by  them  that  are 
no  gods."  Jer.  v.  7 ;  Josh,  xxiii.  7. 

3d.  The  literal  meaning  of  the  Third  Commandment 
is,  "  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  thy  God  in  that 
which  is  false" — that  is,  to  confirm  an  untruth.  The 
command  not  to  take  a  false  oath  or  any  oath  upon  a 
trifling  occasion,  by  implication  carries  with  it  the  per- 
mission to  call  upon  the  God  of  truth  to  confirm  the 
truth  upon  all  worthy  occasions.  Hence  the  oath  is 
enjoined  in  the  Old  Testament  as  a  recognized  religious 
institution.  Dent,  vi.  13;  x.  20,  etc.  Christ  himself, 
when  put  upon  oath  in  the  form  common  among  the 
Jews,  did  not  hesitate  to  answer.  Matt.  xxvi.  63,  64. 
Paul  often  appeals  to  God  for  the  truth  of  his  state- 
ments— thus  :  "  God  is  my  witness  ;"  "  I  call  God  for 
a  record  upon  my  soul."  Rom.  i.  9 ;  2  Cor.  i.  23.     3u 


LAWFUL   OATHS   AND    VOWS.  391 

Hebrews  (Heb.  vi.  13-18)  Paul  declares  that  God,  in 
order  "  to  show  unto  the  heirs  of  the  promise  the  im- 
mutability of  his  counsel,  confirms  it  by  an  oath  ;"  and, 
"  because  he  could  swear  by  no  greater,  he  swears  by 
himself." 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  words  of  our  Saviour 
(Matt.  v.  33-37),  "  Swear  not  at  all,"  cannot  be  intended 
to  forbid  swearing  upon  proper  occasions  in  the  name 
of  the  true  God,  but  must  be  designed  to  forbid  the 
calling  upon  his  name  in  ordinary  conversation  on  tri- 
fling occasions,  and  the  swearing  by  that  which  is  not 
God. 

The  proper  occasions  upon  which  an  oath  may  be 
taken  are  all  those  in  which  serious  and  perfectly  lawful 
interests  are  involved,  and  in  which  an  appeal  to  the 
witness  of  God  is  necessary  to  secure  confidence  and  end 
strife  (Heb.  vi.  16),  and  also  whenever  the  oath  is  im- 
posed by  competent  authority  upon  those  subject  to  it. 
In  the  last  case,  our  Confession  says  that  the  taking  the 
oath  is  a  duty  and  its  refusal  a  sin. 

The  oath  of  course,  both  because  of  its  nature  as  an 
act  of  divine  worship  and  because  of  the  effect  designed 
to  be  attained  by  it — namely,  the  establishment  of  con- 
fidence among  men — ought  always  to  be  administered 
and  taken  in  a  reverent  manner,  and  with  whatever 
outward  action — such  as  raising  the  hand,  placing  it 
upon  the  Scriptures  or  kissing  them — as  by  common 
consent  are  generally  understood,  by  all  parties  and 
witnesses,  to  signify  that  the  God  appealed  to  is  the 
true  God  of  creation,  providence  and  the  Christian 
revelation. 

4th.  The  oath  is  always  to  be  interpreted  and  kept 


392  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

sacred  by  the  person  taking  it,  in  the  sense  in  which  he 
honestly  believes  that  it  is  understood  by  the  person 
who  imposes  it.  It  is  evident  that  if  the  government, 
the  judge,  the  magistrate  or  a  private  fellow-citizen 
require  an  oath  from  us  for  their  satisfaction,  and  if  we 
put  a  private  sense  upon  the  matter  upon  which  we 
Invoke  the  witness  of  God  different  from  that  which  we 
know  they  understand  by  it,  that  we  deceive  them  in- 
tentionally, and,  by  calling  God  to  witness  our  truth 
while  we  are  engaged  in  the  very  act  of  a  lie,  we  commit 
the  sin  of  perjury. 

5th.  The  obligation  of  the  oath  arises  (a)  out  of  the 
original  and  universal  obligation  to  speak  the  truth  and 
to  keep  faith  in  all  engagements ;  (h)  and,  in  addition 
to  this,  our  obligation  to  honour  Gocl,  and  to  avoid  dis- 
honouring him  by  invoking  his  witness  to  a  falsehood, 
(c.)  The  profanity  involved  in  suspending  our  hopes  of 
God's  favour  upon  the  truth  of  that  which  we  know  and 
intend  to  be  false. 

An  oath  cannot  bind  to  that  which  is  in  itself  unlaw- 
ful, because  the  obligation  of  the  law  is  imposed  upon 
us  by  the  will  of  God,  and  therefore  takes  precedence 
of  all  obligations  imposed  upon  us  by  the  will  of  men 
or  by  ourselves ;  and  the  lesser  obligation  cannot  relieve 
from  the  greater.  The  sin  is  in  taking  the  oath  to  do 
the  unlawful  thing,  not  in  breaking  it.  Therefore 
Luther  was  right  in  breaking  his  monastic  vows. 
Neither  can  an  oath  to  do  that  which  is  impossible 
bind,  for  its  impossibility  is  an  expression  of  the  will 
Df  God. 

But  an  oath  to  do  what  is  in  itself  right  and  binding 
imposes  an  additional  obligation  to  perform  it — the  ob» 


LAWFUL   OATHS    AND    VOWS.  393 

ligation  imposed  by  the  law,  and  the  obligation  volun- 
tarily assumed  by  ourselves.  And  an  oath  to  do  any- 
thing which  is  lawful  binds  both  for  truth's  sake  and 
for  God's  sake.  And  (1)  this  obligation  evidently  does  not 
depend  upon  the  goodness  or  badness  of  the  persons  im- 
posing the  oath.  An  oath  to  an  infidel  or  a  heretic  binds 
as  much  as  an  oath  to  a  saint.  The  Romanists  excuse 
the  practice  of  their  Church  of  releasing  persons  from 
the  obligation  of  oaths  to  infidels  or  heretics,  and  of 
breaking  faith  generally  with  all  with  whom  she  has 
controversy,  on  the  plea  that  an  oath  cannot  bind  to  that 
which  is  unlawful  or  release  from  a  prior  obligation, 
and  that  the  highest  of  all  obligations  is  to  subserve  at 
all  cost  the  interest  of  the  Church.  But  they  deliberately 
make  the  oath  in  order  to  break  it,  and  therefore  both 
lie  and  profane  God's  holy  name  in  the  making  and  the 
breaking.  Besides,  the  interest  of  the  Church  is  not  the 
superior  law  which  takes  precedence  of  all  oaths,  but  the 
clearly  revealed  will  of  God  only. 

(2.)  The  obligation  of  the  oath  binds  even  when  a 
man  swears  to  his  own  disadvantage.  Ps.  xv.  4. 

(3.)  Nor  is  the  obligation  impaired  when  the  oath  is 
extorted  either  by  violence  or  fraud.  Thus  the  oaths 
imposed  by  conquerors  upon  the  vanquished  bind,  be- 
cause they  are  voluntarily  assumed  in  preference  to  the 
alternatives  presented.  And  thus  Joshua  kept  the  oath 
which  the  Gibeonites  had  induced  him  through  deceit  to 
swear  in  their  behalf.  Joshua  ix.  3-29.  * 

Section  V. — A  vow  is  of  the  like  nature  with  a  promissory 
oath,  and  ought  to  be  made  with  the  like  religious  care,  and  to 
be  performed  with  the  like  faithfulness.13 

*  Dr.  Charles  Hodge's  Lectures  on  the  Law. 


894  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

Section  VI. — It  is  not  to  be  made  to  any  creature,  but  to  God 
alone  ;u  and  that  it  may  be  accepted,  it  is  to  be  made  voluntarily, 
out  of  faith  and  conscience  of  duty,  in  way  of  thankfulness  foi 
mercy  received,  or  for  the  obtaining  of  what  we  want ;  whereby 
we  more  strictly  bind  ourselves  to  necessary  duties,  or  to  other 
things,  so  far  and  so  long  as  they  may  fitly  conduce  thereunto.15 

SECTION  VII. — No  man  may  vow  to  do  anything  forbidden  in 
the  word  of  God,  or  what  would  hinder  any  duty  therein  com- 
manded, or  which  is  not  in  his  own  power,  and  for  the  perform- 
ance whereof  he  hath  no  promise  of  ability  from  God.16  In  which 
respects  popish  monastical  vows  of  perpetual  single  life,  professed 
poverty,  and  regular  obedience,  are  so  far  from  being  degrees  of 
higher  perfection,  that  they  are  superstitious  and  sinful  snares, 
in  which  no  Christian  may  entangle  himself.17 

is  Isa.  xix.  21 ;  Eccles.  v.  4-6 ;  Ps.  Ixi.  8 ;  lxvi.  13,  14.—"  Ps.  Ixxvi.  11  ; 
Jer.  xliv.  25,  26.— 15  Deut.  xxiii.  21-23;  Ps.  I.  14;  Gen.  xxviii.  20-22; 
1  Sam.  i.  11 ;  Ps.  lxvi.  13,  14;  cxxxii.  2-5.— 16  Acts  xxiii.  12,  14 ;  Mark  vi. 
26;  Num.  xxx.  5,  8,  12,  13.— "  Matt.  xix.  11,  12;  1  Cor.  vii.  2,  9;  Eph. 
iv.  28 ;  1  Pet.  iv.  2 ;  1  Cor.  vii.  23. 

The  vow  is  a  promise  made  to  God.  In  the  oath,  the 
parties  are  both  men,  and  God  is  invoked  as  a  witness. 
In  the  vow,  God  is  the  party  to  whom  the  promise  is 
made.  It  is  of  like  nature  with  an  oath,  because  we  are 
bound  to  observe  them  on  the  same  grounds,  because  of 
our  obligation  to  truth,  and  because  of  our  obligation  to 
reverence  God.  Lightly  to  vow  on  a  trifling  occasion, 
or  having  vowed  to  fail  to  keep  it,  is  an  act  of  profanity 
to  God. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  oath,  we  have  abundant  scrip- 
tural sanction  for  the  vow.  Eccles.  v.  4;  Ps.  Ixxvi.  11  ; 
1  Sam.  i.  11  ;  and  the  case  of  Paul,  Acts  xviii.  18.  Re- 
ception of  either  of  the  sacraments  of  baptism  or  the 
Lord's  Supper  involves  very  sacred  and  binding  vows 
to  God,  and  the  same  is  repeated  whenever  in  prayer, 


LAWFUL   OATHS    AND    VOWS.  395 

wally  or  in  writing,  we  formally  or  informally  renew 
our  covenant  promises  to  God.  Thus  a  vow,  as  any 
other  promise,  may  bind  generally  to  loyal  obedience  or 
specially  to  some  particular  action. 

A  vow  cannot  bind  to  do  that  which  is  unlawful  or 
impossible,  for  reasons  before  explained  in  relation  to  an 
oath.  Nor  when  made  by  a  child  or  other  person  under 
authority  and  destitute  of  the  right  to  bind  themselves 
of  their  own  will.  Num.  xxx.  1-8.  Nor  can  it  con- 
tinue to  bind  in  cases  in  which  its  continued  observance 
is  found  clearly  to  be  inconsistent  with  our  spiritual 
interests,  for  then  it  is  certain  that  God  does  not  wish  it, 
and  a  promise  can  never  bind  when  the  party  to  whom 
it  is  made  does  not  desire  it  kept. 

When  the  matter  of  the  vow  is  not  unlawful,  but 
morally  indifferent,  the  vow  is  binding,  but  experience 
abundantly  proves  that  to  accumulate  such  obligations 
is  very  injurious.  The  word  of  God  in  the  Scriptures 
imposes  upon  us  by  his  authority  all  that  it  is  his  will 
or  for  our  interest  for  us  to  observe.  The  multiplica- 
tion of  self-imposed  duties  dishonours  him,  and  greatly 
harasses  us  and  endangers  our  safety.  Vows  had 
better  be  restricted  to  the  voluntary  assumption  and 
promise  to  observe,  with  the  help  of  divine  grace, 
duties  imposed  by  God  and  plainly  revealed  in  the 
Scriptures. 


QUESTIONS. 

t.  What  are  the  subjects  treated  of  in  the  first  four  Sections 
of  this  Chapter  ? 
2.  What  is  a  lawful  oath  ? 


396  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

3.  What  is  implied  in  it,  and  how  is  this  implication  generally 
expressed  ? 

4.  Show  how  the  oath  is  an  act  of  religious  worship. 

5.  In  whose  name  must  every  lawful  oath  be  taken?  and  show 
why  it  is  sinful  to  swear  in  any  other  name. 

6.  Who  may  and  who  may  not  consistently  swear  by  the  true 
God? 

7.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  it  is  wrong  to  swear  by  false  gods. 

8.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  it  is  right  to  swear  by  the  true 
God  on  proper  occasions. 

9.  What  was  the  example  of  Paul  and  of  Christ  on  this  point  ? 

10.  In  what  sense  are  the  words  of  our  Saviour,  "  Swear  not 
at  all"  (Matt.  v.  33-39),  to  be  taken? 

11.  Upon  what  occasions  and  for  what  purpose  is  it  proper  to 
swear  ? 

12.  In  what  manner  and  with  what  forms  is  it  right  to 
swear  ? 

13.  In  what  sense  is  the  matter  of  the  oath  to  be  interpreted 
and  why? 

14.  From  what  does  the  obligation  to  keep  the  oath  arise  ? 

15.  Under  what  circumstances  does  the  obligation  of  an  oath 
fail  to  bind? 

16.  If  the  matter  of  the  oath  is  in  itself  a  duty,  does  the  oath 
add  to  the  obligation  already  existing,  and  why? 

17.  Does  the  obligation  of  the  oath  depend  upon  the  character 
of  those  who  impose  it? 

18.  On  what  principles  do  the  Romanists  defend  the  flagrant 
violations  of  oaths  of  which  their  Church  is  guilty,  and  her 
assumed  right  to  absolve  her  members  from  the  obligations  of 
their  oaths  ? 

19  Is  a  man  bound  by  an  oath  the  execution  of  which  would 
work  his  own  disadvantage? 

20.  Is  a  man  bound  by  an  oath  extorted  from  him  by  violence 
or  deceit,  and  why  ? 

21.  What  is  a  vow,  and  how  does  it  differ  from  an  oath? 

22.  Upon  what  principle  does  the  obligation  of  a  vow  rest? 

23.  Show  from  Scripture  that  it  is  right  to  vow  upon  proper 
occasions. 


LAWFUL   OATHS   AND   VOWS.  397 

24.  When  does  a  vow  fail,  and  when  does  it  cease  to  bind? 

25.  What  is  the  lesson  experience  teaches  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
multiplying  vows. 

26.  Show,  that  as  a  general  thing,  our  vows  should  relate  to 
things  indifferent,  or  to  duties  antecedently  binding ;  i.,  e.  to  mat- 
ters imposed  upon  us  by  the  will  of  God,  and  not  by  our  own  will. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

OF     THE     CIVIL     MAGISTRATE. 

Section  ]  —God,  the  supreme  Lord  and  King  of  all  the 
world,  hath  )rdained  civil  magistrates  to  be  under  him  over  the 
people,  for  his  own  glory  and  the  public  good  ;  and  to  this  end, 
hath  armed  them  with  the  power  of  the  sword,  for  the  defence 
and  encouragement  of  them  that  are  good,  and  for  the  punish- 
ment of  evil-doers.1 

Section  II. — It  is  lawful  for  Christians  to  accept  and  execute 
the  office  of  a  magistrate,  when  called  thereunto  ;2  in  the  manag- 
ing whereof,  as  they  ought  especially  to  maintain  piety,  justice 
and  peace,  according  to  the  wholesome  laws  of  each  common- 
wealth ;3  so,  for  that  end,  they  may  lawfully,  now  under  the  New 
Testament,  wage  war  upon  just  and  necessary  occasions.4 

1  Rom.  xiii.  1-4;  1  Pet,  ii.  13,  14.— 2  Prov.  viii.  15,  16  ;  Rom.  xiii.  1,  2, 
4.— 3  Ps.  ii.  10-12;  1  Tim.  ii.  2;  Ps.  lxxii.  3,  4;  2  Sam.  xxiii.  3;  1  Pet. 
ii.  13.—*  Luke  iii.  14;  Rom.  xiii.  4;  Matt.  viii.  9,  10;  Acts  x.  1,  2 ;  Rev. 
xvii.  14, 16. 

These  Sections  teach  as  follows  : 

1st.  Civil  government  is  a  divine  institution,  and 
hence  the  duty  of  obedience  to  our  legitimate  rulers  is  a 
duty  owed  to  God,  as  well  as  to  our  fellow-men.  Some 
have  supposed  that  the  right  or  legitimate  authority  of 
nuraan  government  has  its  foundation  ultimately  in 
"the  consent  of  the  governed,"  "the  will  of  the  ma- 
jority," or  in  some  imaginary  "social  compact"  entered 
into  by  the  forefathers  of  the  race  at  the  origin  of  social 
life.     It  is  self-evident,  however,  that  the  divine  will  is 


THE   CIVIL    MAGISTRATE.  399 

Hie  source  of  all  government,  and  the  obligation  to  obey 
that  will  resting  upon  all  moral  agents  the  ultimate  ground 
of  all  obligation  to  obey  human  governments.  This  is 
certain — (a.)  Because  God  is  the  Creator  and  absolute 
Possessor  of  all  men.  (6.)  Because  he  has  formed  their 
constitution  as  intelligent,  morally  responsible  free  agents, 
and  is  the  Lord  of  the  conscience,  (c.)  Because  he  is 
the  supreme  moral  Governor  of  all  moral  agents,  and 
because  his  all-embracing  moral  law  of  absolute  perfec- 
tion requires  all  that  is  morally  right  of  every  kind, 
and  forbids  all  that  is  morally  wrong.  Hence  every 
moral  obligation  of  every  kind  is  a  duty  owed  to  God. 
(d.)  Because  God  has  constituted  man  a  social  being  ii 
his  creation,  and  has  providentially  organized  him  ii 
families  and  communities,  and  thus  made  civil  govern- 
ment an  absolute  necessity,  (e.)  Because  as  a  providen- 
tial Ruler  of  the  world  God  uses  civil  government  as  his 
instrument  in  promoting  the  great  ends  of  redemption 
in  the  upbuilding  of  his  kingdom  in  the  world.  (/.) 
This  is  explicitly  affirmed  in  Scripture :  "There  is  no 
power  but  of  God ;  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of 
God.  Whosoever,  therefore,  resisteth  the  power  resist- 
eth  the  ordinance  of  God."  Rom.  xiii.  1,  2.  To  the 
good  the  magistrate  is  "a  minister  of  God  for  good," 
and  to  the  evil  he  is  "a  minister  of  God,  an  avenger  to 
execute  wrath  upon  him  that  doeth  evil."  Rom.  xiii.  4. 
Of  course  God  has  not  prescribed  for  all  men  any 
particular  form  or  order  of  succession  of  civil  govern- 
ment. He  has  laid  the  general  foundation  both  for  the 
duty  and  necessity  of  government  n  the  consciences 
and  in  the  social  natures  of  all  men  and  in  the  circum- 
stances of  all    communities,  while    he    has    left   eveiy 


400  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

people  free  to  choose  their  o  vn  form  of  government  in 
their  own  way,  according  to  their  various  degrees  of 
civilization,  their  social  and  political  condition,  their 
historical  antecedents,  and  as  they  are  instructed  by  his 
word  and  led  and  sustained  by  his  providence. 

In  this  sense  God  as  Creator,  as  revealed  in  the  light 
of  nature,  has  established  civil  government  among  men 
from  the  beginning,  and  among  all  peoples  and  nations 
of  all  ages  and  generations.  But  in  the  development 
of  the  plan  of  redemption  the  God-man  as  mediatorial 
King  has  assumed  the  government  of  the  universe.  Matt, 
xxviii.  18;  Phil.  ii.  9-11;  Eph.  i.  17-23.  As  the 
universe  constitutes  one  physical  and  moral  system,  it 
was  necessary  that  his  headship  as  Mediator  should 
extend  to  the  whole  and  to  every  department  thereof,  in 
order  that  all  things  should  work  together  for  good  to 
his  people  and  for  his  glory,  that  all  his  enemies  should 
be  subdued  and  finally  judged  and  punished,  and  that 
all  creatures  should  worship  him,  as  his  Father  had 
determined.  Rom.  viii.  28;  1  Cor.  xv.  25;  Heb.  x.  13; 
i.  6 ;  Rev.  v.  9-13.  Hence  the  present  providential 
Governor  of  the  physical  universe  and  "  Ruler  among 
the  nations"  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews, 
to  whose  will *all  laws  should  be  conformed,  and  whom 
all  nations  and  all  rulers  of  men  should  acknowledge 
and  serve.  "  He  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh 
a  name  written,  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  vjrds." 
Rev.  xix.  16. 

2d.  The  proximate  end  for  which  God  has  ordained 
magistrates  is  the  promotion  of  the  public  good,  and 
the  ultimate  end  is  the  promotion  of  his  own  glory. 
This  evidently  follows  from  the  revealed   fact  that  tins 


THE    CTVTL   MAGISTRATE.  401 

glory  or  manifested  excellence  of  the  Creator  is  the 
chief  end  he  had  in  the  general  system  of  things,  and 
hence  the  appointed  chief  end  of  each  intelligent  agent. 
Rom.  ix.  22,  23  ;  xi.  36  ;  Col.  i.  16 ;  Eph.  i.  5,  6 ;  1  Pet. 
iv.  11.  If  the  glory  of  God  is  the  chief  end  of  every 
man,  it  must  be  the  chief  end  equally  of  all  nations  and 
communities  of  men,  and  it  ought  to  be  made  the  gov- 
erning purpose  of  every  individual  in  all  his  relations 
and  actions,  public  and  official,  as  well  as  private  and 
personal.  And  if  the  glory  of  God  is  his  chief  end,  it  is 
that  to  which  all  other  objects  and  designs  are  subordin- 
ated as  ends.  The  specific  way  in  which  the  civil  mag- 
istrate is  to  endeavour  to  advance  the  glory  of  God  is 
through  the  promotion  of  the  good  of  the  community 
(Rom.  xiii.  4)  in  temporal  concerns,  including  educa- 
tion, morals,  physical  prosperity  and  the  protection  of 
life  and  property,  and  the  preservation  of  order;  and 

3d.  Christian  magistrates  should  also  seek  in  their 
influential  positions  to  promote  piety  as  well  as  order. 
2  Tim.  ii.  1.  This  they  are  to  do,  not  by  assuming  the 
functions  of  the  Church,  nor  by  attempting  by  endow- 
ments officially  to  patronize  or  control  the  Church,  but 
personally  by  their  example,  and  officially  by  giving  im- 
partial protection  and  all  due  facility  for  the  Church  in 
its  work,  by  the  explicit  recognition  of  God  and  of  Jesus 
Christ  "  as  Ruler  among  the  nations,"  and  by  the  enact- 
ment and  enforcement  of  all  laws  conceived  in  the  true 
Spirit  of  the  Gospel,  touching  all  questions  upon  which 
the  Scriptures  indicate  the  will  of  God  specifically  or  in 
general  principle,  and  especially  as  touching  questions 
of  the  Sabbath  day,  the  oath,  mar  'iage  and  divorce, 
capital  punishments,  etc.,  etc. 

26 


402  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

4th.  It  is  lawful  for  Christians  to  accept  ai  d  execute 
the  office  of  a  magistrate.  This  is  evident  enough. 
Indeed  in  the  highest  sense  it  is  lawful  for  none  other 
than  Christians  to  be  magistrates  or  anything  else, 
since  it  is  a  violation  of  God's  will  that  any  man  is  not 
a  Christian.  And  the  greater  the  number  and  the  im- 
portance of  the  relations  a  man  assumes,  the  greater  be- 
comes his  obligation  to  be  a  Christian,  in  order  that  he 
may  be  qualified  to  discharge  them  all  for  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  good  of  all  concerned. 

5th.  Christian  magistrates  may  lawfully,  under  the 
New  Testament,  wage  war  upon  just  and  necessary  oc- 
casions. The  right  and  duty  of  self-defence  is  estab- 
lished by  the  inalienable  instincts  of  nature,  by  reason, 
conscience,  the  word  of  God  and  the  universal  consent 
of  mankind.  If  it  is  right  for  an  individual  to  take 
life  in  self-defence,  it  must  be  equally  right  for  a  com- 
munity to  do  so  on  the  same  principle. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  decide  in  particular  cases  when 
it  is  right  for  a  Christian  nation  to  go  to  war,  and  it  is 
not  our  place  to  consider  such  questions.  But  the  fol- 
lowing general  principles  are  very  plain  and  very  cer- 
tain. War  is  an  incalculable  evil,  because  of  the  lives 
it  destroys,  the  misery  it  occasions  and  the  moral  degra- 
dation it  infallibly  works  on  all  sides — upon  the  van- 
quished and  the  victor,  the  party  originally  in  the  right 
nnd  the  party  in  the  wrong.  In  every  war  one  party 
*t  least  must  be  in  the  wrong,  involved  in  the  tremen- 
dous guilt  of  unjustifiable  Avar,  and  in  the  vast  majority 
of  cases  both  parties  are  thus  in  the  wrong.  No  plea 
of  honour,  glory  or  aggrandizement,  policy  or  profit  can 
excuse,  much  less  justify,  war;  nothing  short  of  necessity 


THE   CIVIL   MAGISTRATE.  403 

to  the  end  of  the  preservation  of  national  existence. 
In  order  to  make  a  war  right  in  God's  sight,  it  is  not 
onJy  necessary  that  our  enemy  should  aim  to  do  us  a 
wrong,  but  also  (a)  that  the  wrong  he  attempts  should 
directly  or  remotely  threaten  the  national  life,  and  (b)  that 
war  be  the  only  means  to  avert  it.  Even  in  this  case 
every  other  means  of  securing  justice  and  maintaining 
national  safety  should  be  exhausted  before  recourse  is 
had  to  this  last  resort.  A  war  may  be  purely  defensive 
in  spirit  and  intent  while  it  is  aggressive  in  the  manner 
in  which  it  is  conducted.  The  question  of  right  de- 
pends upon  the  former,  not  the  latter — upon  the  purpose 
for  which,  and  not  upon  the  mere  order  in  which,  or 
theatre  upon  which,  the  attack  is  made. 

Section  III. — Civil  magistt-ates  may  not  assume  to  themselves 
the  administration  of  the  word  and  sacraments  ;5  or  the  power  of 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;6  or,  in  the  least,  interfere  in 
matters  of  faith.7  Yet  as  nursing  fathers,  it  is  the  duty  of  civil 
magistrates  to  protect  the  Church  of  our  common  Lord,  without 
giving  the  preference  to  any  denomination  of  Christians  above  the 
rest,  in  such  a  manner,  that  all  ecclesiastical  persons  whatever 
shall  enjoy  the  full,  free  and  unquestioned  liberty  of  discharging 
every  part  of  their  sacred  functions,  without  violence  or  danger.8 
And,  as  Jesus  Christ  hath  appointed  a  regular  government  and 
discipline  in  his  Church,  no  law  of  any  commonwealth  should 
interfere  with,  let  or  hinder,  the  due  exercise  thereof,  among  the 
voluntary  members  of  any  denomination  of  Christians,  according 
to  their  own  profession  and  belief.9  It  is  the  duty  of  civil  magi- 
strates to  protect  the  person  and  good  name  of  all  their  people, 
in  such  an  effectual  manner  as  that  no  person  be  suffered,  cither 
upon  pretence  of  religion  or  infidelity,  to  offer  any  indignity,  vio- 
lence, abuse  or  injury  to  any  other  person  whatsoever :  and  to 
take  order,  that  all  religious  and  ecclesiastical  assemblies  be  held 
without  molestation  or  disturbance.10 


404  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

Section  IV — It  is  the  duty  of  people  to  pray  for  magistrates,1* 
co  honour  their  persons,12  to  pay  them  tribute  and  other  dues,u 
to  obey  their  lawful  commands,  and  to  be  subject  to  their  au- 
thority, for  conscience'  sake.14  Infidelity,  or  difference  in  reli- 
gion, doth  not  make  void  the  magistrate's  just  and  legal  authority, 
nor  free  the  people  from  their  due  obedience  to  him  ;15  from  which 
ecclesiastical  persons  are  not  exempted  ;1G  much  less  hath  the 
Pope  any  power  or  jurisdiction  over  them  in  their  dominions,  or 
over  any  of  their  people  ;  and  least  of  all  to  deprive  them  of  their 
dominions  or  lives,  if  he  shall  judge  them  to  be  heretics,  or  upon 
any  other  pretence  whatsoever.17 

6  2  Chron.  xxvi.  18.— 6  Matt.  xvi.  19.— 7  John  xviii.  36.— 8  Isa.  xlix.  23. 
— 9  Ps.  cv.  15.— 10  2  Sam.  xxiii.  3 ;  1  Tim.  ii.  1 ;  Rom.  xiii.  4.— «  1  Tim. 
ii.  1,  2.— 12  1  Pet.  ii.  17.— 13  Rom.  xiii.  6,  7.— u  Rom.  xiii.  5;  Tit.  iii.  1.— 
15  1  Pet.  ii.  13,  14,  16.— 16  Rom.  xiii.  1 ;  1  Kings  ii.  35  ;  Acts  xxv.  9-11 ;  2 
Pet.  ii.  1,  10,  11 ;  Jude  8-11.—"  2  Thess.  ii.  4;  Rev.  xiii.  15-17. 

These  Sections  teach  that  the  Church  and  the  State  are 
both  divine  institutions,  having  different  objects  and 
spheres  of  action,  different  governments  and  officers,  and 
hence,  while  owing  mutual  good  offices,  are  independent 
of  each  other. 

This  is  opposed — 

1st.  To  the  Papal  doctrine  of  the  relation  of  the  State 
to  the  Church.  According  to  the  strictly  logical  ultra- 
montane view,  the  whole  nation  being  in  all  its  members 
a  portion  of  the  Church  universal,  the  civil  organization 
is  comprehended  within  the  Church  for  certain  ends 
subordinate  to  the  great  end  for  which  the  Church  exists, 
and  is  therefore  ultimately  responsible  to  it  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  authority  delegated.  Hence,  whenever  the 
Pope  has  been  in  a  condition  to  vindicate  his  authority, 
he  has  put  kingdoms  under  interdict,  released  subjects 
from  their  vow  of  allegiance  and  deposed  sovereigns  be- 
cause of  the  assumed  heresy  or  insubordination  of  the 


THE   CIVIL   MAGISTRATE.  405 

civil  rulers  of  the  land.  Our  Confession  teaches  that  the 
State  is  in  its  sphere  entirely  independent  of  the  Church, 
and  that  it  has  civil  jurisdiction  over  all  ecclesiastical 
persons,  on  the  same  principles  and  to  the  same  extent 
it  has  over  any  other  class  of  persons  whatsoever. 

2d.  The  statements  of  these  Sections  are  opposed  also 
to  the  Erastian  doctrine  as  to  the  relation  of  the  State 
to  the  Church,  which  has  prevailed  in  all  the  nations 
and  national  churches  of  Europe.  This  doctrine  regards 
the  State  as  a  divine  institution,  designed  to  provide  foi 
all  the  wants  of  men,  spiritual  as  well  as  temporal,  and 
that  it  is  consequently  charged  with  the  duty  of  pro- 
viding for  the  dissemination  of  pure  doctrine  and  for 
the  proper  administration  of  the  sacraments  and  of  dis- 
cipline. It  is  the  duty  of  the  civil  magistrate  therefore 
to  support  the  Church,  to  appoint  its  officers,  to  define 
its  laws  and  to  superintend  their  administration.  Thus 
in  the  State  churches  of  Protestant  Germany  and  Eng- 
land the  sovereign  is  the  supreme  ruler  of  the  Church 
as  well  as  of  the  State,  and  the  civil  magistrate  has 
chosen  and  imposed  the  confessions  of  faith,  the  system 
of  government,  the  order  of  worship  and  the  entire 
course  of  ecclesiastical  administration. 

In  opposition  to  this,  our  Confession  teaches  that  re- 
ligious liberty  is  an  inalienable  prerogative  of  mankind 
(Chapter  xx.),  and  that  it  involves  the  unlimited  right 
upon  the  part  of  every  man  to  worship  God  according 
to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience.  Hence,  ecclesias- 
tical rulers,  although  endowed  with  the  power  of  the 
keys,  are  not  allowed  to  apply  any  civil  pains  or  dis- 
abilities to  coerce  men  to  obey  the  laws  they  administer. 
Hence,  also,  the  civil  magistrate,  while  bound  to  protect 


106  CONFESSION  OF   FAITH. 

church  membe.  $  and  ecclesiastical  organizations  in  the 
peaceful  enjoyment  of  their  rights  and  discharge  of  their 
functions,  is  nevertheless  allowed  no  official  jurisdiction 
whatever  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  The  same  per- 
son may  be  a  civil  magistrate  and  a  church  member. 
In  the  one  case  he  is  a  ruler — in  the  other  a  subject.  Or 
the  same  person  may  be  a  civil  magistrate  and  a  church 
officer,  and  rule  at  the  same  time  in  both  spheres.  But 
his  jurisdiction  in  each  case  would  have  entirely  inde- 
pendent grounds,  objects,  spheres,  modes  and  subjects 
of  operation. 

These  Sections  also  teach  that  obedience  to  civil 
magistrates,  when  making  or  executing  laws  within  the 
proper  sphere  of  the  State,  is  a  duty  binding  upon  all 
the  subjects  of  government  for  conscience'  sake  by  the 
authority  of  God.  This  follows  directly  from  the  fact, 
as  before  shown,  that  civil  government  is  an  ordinance 
of  God — that  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God  for 
certain  ends;  hence  obedience  to  them  is  obedience  to 
God.  It  follows  hence  —  (1.)  That  this  obedience 
ought  to  be  from  the  heart  and  for  conscience'  sake,  and 
not  of  constraint.  Hence  we  will  pray  for  and  volun- 
tarily assist  our  rulers,  as  well  as  render  mere  technical 
obedience.  (2.)  Rebellion  is  a  grievous  sin,  since  it  is 
disobedience  to  God,  and  since  it  necessarily  works  such 
permanent  physical  ruin  and  social  demoralization  among 
our  fellow-men.  The  limit  of  this  obligation  to  obe- 
dience will  be  found  only  when  we  are  commanded  to 
do  something  contrary  to  the  superior  authority  of  God 
(Acts  iv.  19;  v.  29) ;  and  when  the  civil  government  has 
become  so  radically  and  incurably  corrupt  that  it  has 
ceased   to  accomplish  the  ends  for  which   it  was  estalr 


THE   CIVIL    MAGISTRATE.  407 

lished.  When  that  point  has  unquestionably  been 
reached,  when  all  means  of  redress  have  been  exhausted 
without  avail,  when  there  appears  no  prospect  of  securing 
reform  in  the  government  itself,  and  some  good  prospect 
of  securing  it  by  revolution,  then  it  is  the  privilege  and 
duty  of  a  Christian  people  to  change  their  government 
— peacefully  if  they  may,  forcibly  if  they  must. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  m  the  first  and  second 
Sections  of  this  Chapter? 

2.  What  has  by  some  been  presumed  to  be  the  ultimate 
foundation  of  civil  government? 

3.  State  the  proof,  from  the  general  facts  of  God's  relation  to 
the  world  and  its  inhabitants,  that  civil  government  is  really  a 
divine  ordinance. 

4.  Prove  the  same  from  Scripture. 

5.  To  whom  has  God  left  the  decision  of  the  particular  form 
of  government  to  be  adopfed  by  any  people? 

6.  What  circumstances  and  what  rule  is  to  determine  them  in 
the  choice  ? 

7.  Was  civil  government  originally  instituted  by  God  as  Cre- 
ator or  as  Redeemer  ? 

8.  What  divine  Person  is  now  the  supreme  Ruler  among  the 
nations  and  head  of  all  governments? 

9.  Prove  the  answer  you  give. 

10.  What  is  the  ultimate  end  to  promote  which  the  civil  magis- 
trate is  appointed? 

1 1 .  Prove  your  answer. 

1 2.  What  is  the  proximate  end  he  is  intended  to  promote  ? 

13.  In  what  special  sphere  and  by  what  means  is  he  to  promote 
the  public  good  ? 

14.  By  what  means  is  the  civil  magistrate  to  seek  to  promote 
piety  as  well  as  peace  and  justice? 


408  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

15.  Show  why  it  is  lawful  for  Christians  to  accept  civil  office. 

16.  Upon  what  ground  may  the  lawfulness  of  defensive  wars 
be  maintained  ? 

1 7.  What  is  the  only  proper  excuse  for  war  ? 

18.  What  ought  in  every  case  a  Christian  people  to  attempt 
before  appealing  to  the  arbitrament  of  war? 

19.  What  do  the  third  and  fourth  Sections  teach  ? 

20.  What  is  the  Papal  doctrine  as  to  the  relation  of  the  State 
to  the  Church  ? 

21.  What  does  our  Confession  teach  in  opposition  to  it? 

22.  What  is  the  Erastian  doctrine  as  to  the  relation  of  the 
Church  to  the  State  ? 

23.  What  churches  are  organized  upon  this  principle  ? 

24.  What  does  our  Confession  teach  in  opposition  to  that  doc- 
trine? 

25.  What  duty  do  the  civil  magistrates  owe  with  respect  to  the 
Church? 

26.  What  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  with  respect  to  the  State? 

27.  On  what  grounds  do  the  subjects  of  civil  government  owe 
obedience  to  those  in  authority  over  them  ? 

28.  What  kind  of  obedience  do  they  owe? 

29.  Why  is  rebellion  against  legitimate  authority  a  great  sin? 

30.  When  is  resistance  to  civil  rulers  lawful  ? 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

OF    MARRIAGE     AND     DIVORCE. 

Section  I. — Marriage  is  to  be  between  one  man  and  one  wo- 
man :  neither  is  it  lawful  for  any  man  to  have  more  than  one 
wife,  nor  for  any  woman  to  have  more  than  one  husband  at  the 
same  time.1 

Section  II. — Marriage  was  ordained  for  the  mutual  help  of 
husband  and  wife,2  for  the  increase  of  mankind  with  a  legitimate 
issue  and  of  the  Church  with  an  holy  seed,3  and  for  preventing 
of  unclean ness.4 

Section  III. — It  is  lawful  for  all  sorts  of  people  to  marry  who 
are  able  with  judgment  to  give  their  consent;5  yet  it  is  the  duty 
of  Christians  to  marry  only  in  the  Lord.6  And  therefore  such 
as  profess  the  true  reformed  religion  should  not  marry  with  infi- 
dels, Papists  or  other  idolaters ;  neither  should  such  as  are  godly 
be  unequally  yoked,  by  marrying  with  such  as  are  notoriously 
wicked  in  their  life  or  maintain  damnable  heresies.7 

i  Gen.  ii.  24;  Matt.  xix.  6,  7  ;  Prov.  ii.  17.— 2  Gen.  ii.  18.— 3  Mai.  ii.  15. 
*  1  Cor.  vii.  2,  9.— 5  Heb.  xiii.  4;  1  Tim.  iv.  3;  1  Cor.  vii.  36-38:  Gen.  xxiv. 
67,  58.— 6  1  Cor.  vii.  30.—'  Gen.  xxxiv.  14;  Ex.  xxxiv.  16;  Deut.  vii.  3 
4;  1  Kings  xi.  4;  Neh.  iii.  25-27;  Mai.  ii.  11,  12;  2  Cor.  vi.  14. 

It  is  taught  in  these  Sections — 

1st.  That  marriage  was  ordained  of  God,  and  is  there- 
fore a  divine  institution,  involving  a  religious  as  well  as 
a  civil  contract. 

2d.  The  ends  designed  to  be  promoted  by  marriage 
are  specified. 

3d.  It  is  affirmed  that  the  law  of  marriage  allows  it 
to  be  contracted  only  between  one  mau  and  one  woman, 

4P'J 


410  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

and  that  a  man  can  have  but  one  wife  and  a  woman  but 
one  husband  at  the  same  time. 

4th.  The  pre-eminent  sanctity  of  a  life  of  celibacy  is 
denied,  and  the  lawfulness  of  marriage  for  all  classes  of 
men  is  affirmed. 

5th.  It  is  taught  that  persons  of  different  religions 
should  not  intermarry — that  true  believers  should  not 
be  unequally  yoked  with  the  ungodly. 

1st.  Marriage  was  ordained  of  God,  and  is  therefore 
a  divine  institution.  This  is  so — (1)  because  God  created 
man  male  and  female,  and  so  constituted  them,  physic- 
ally and  morally,  that  they  are  mutually  adapted  to  each 
other  and  are  mutually  helpful  to  each  other,  under  the 
law  of  marriage,  and  not  otherwise ;  and  (2)  because  the 
law  of  marriage,  the  conditions  of  its  contract,  continu- 
ance and  dissolution,  are  laid  down  in  the  word  of  God. 

Hence  it  follows  that  marriage  is  a  religious  as  well 
as  a  civil  contract.  No  State  has  any  right  to  change 
the  law  of  marriage,  or  the  conditions  upon  which  it 
may  be  lawfully  constituted  or  dissolved,  as  these  have 
been  ordained  by  God.  Neither  has  any  man  or  woman 
a  right  to  contract  any  relation  different  in  any  respect; 
as  to  its  character  or  duration,  from  that  which  God  has 
ordained  as  marriage.  Hence  marriage  is  a  human  con- 
tract under  the  limits  and  sanctions  of  a  divine  consti- 
tution, and  the  parties  contracting  pledge  their  vows  of 
truth  and  constancy  to  God  as  well  as  to  each  other  and 
to  society. 

But  it  is  also  a  civil  contract,  because  every  State  is 
bound  to  protect  the  foundations  upon  which  social 
order  reposes,  and  every  marriage  involves  many  ob- 
vious civil  obligations  and  leads  to   many  civil  conse- 


MARRIAGE   AND    DIVORCE.  4  1  1 

quences,  touching  property,  the  custody  of  children,  etc. 

The  State  must  therefore  define  the  nature  and  civil 
effects  of  marriage  and  prescribe  conditions  upon  which 
and  modes  in  which  it  shall  be  publicly  acknowledged 
and  ratified  or  dissolved.  It  is  of  the  highest  import- 
ance that  the  laws  of  the  State  do  not  contravene  the 
laws  of  God  upon  this  subject,  but  be  made  in  all 
respects  to  conform  to  them.  In  all  cases  of  such  con- 
flict, Christians  and  Christian  ministers  must  obey  God 
rather  than  men.  In  Great  Britain  the  civil  authorities 
have  transgressed  the  authority  of  God  in  this  matter, 
chiefly  by  declaring  marriages,  really  binding  in  God's 
sight,  to  be  null  and  void  ab  initio,  because  of  some 
trivial  illegality  as  to  the  time  in  which  or  the  persons 
by  whom  it  was  solemnized.  In  this  country  the  sin  is 
chiefly  committed  in  the  matter  of  allowing  the  mar- 
riage-bond to  be  dissolved  for  many  causes  not  recog- 
nized as  valid  in  the  word  of  God.  The  law  of  the 
land  is  to  be  obeyed  for  conscience'  sake  whenever  it 
does  not  contravene  the  higher  law  of  God.  When  it 
plainly  does  so,  then  Christian  men  and  church  sessions 
are  to  act  themselves  and  to  treat  others  just  as  if  the 
ungodly  human  enactment  had  no  existence,  and  then 
take  the  consequences. 

2d.  The  main  ends  designed  to  be  promoted  by  mar- 
riage are  stated  to  be — (1.)  The  mutual  help  of  husband 
and  wife.  (2.)  The  increase  of  mankind  witl  a  legiti- 
mate issue.  (3.)  The  increase  of  the  Church  v.f  Christ 
with  a  holy  seed.     (4.)  The  prevention  of  uncleanness. 

3d.  The  law  of  God  makes  marriage  a  contract  for 
life  between  one  man  and  one  woman.  The  proof  of 
this  is  as  follows  : 


412  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

(1.)  God  instituted  marriage  at  first  between  one  man 
and  one  woman. 

(2.)  He  has  providentially  preserved  in  all  ages  and 
amoDg  all  nations  an  equal  number  of  births  of  each 
sex. 

(3.)  Experience  shows  that  both  physically,  economi- 
cally and  morally,  polygamy  defeats  all  the  ends  for 
which  marriage  was  designed,  and  is  inconsistent  with 
numan  nature  and  the  relations  of  the  sexes,  while 
monogamy  proves  in  the  highest  degree  adapted  to 
effect  those  ends. 

(4.)  This  original  law  of  God  and  of  nature  is  of 
course  dispensable  in  special  cases  and  under  peculiar 
conditions  by  the  lawgiver,  and  whenever,  and  to  what- 
soever extent  it  is  thus  dispensed  it  ceases  to  be  binding, 
and  its  non-observance  ceases  to  be  sin.  Thus  Moses 
as  God's  agent  allowed  a  dispensation  of  this  law  of 
monogamy  which  had  been  long  disregarded  among  the 
ancestors  of  the  Israelites,  "but  in  the  beginning  it  was 
not  so." 

(5.)  Christ  expressly  withdraws  this  dispensation, 
and  restores  the  law  of  marriage  to  its  original  basis. 
"  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  except  it  be  for 
fornication,  and  shall  marry  another,  committeth  adul- 
tery ;  and  whosoever  marrieth  her  which  is  put  away  doth 
commit  adultery."  Matt.  xix.  9.  It  is  obvious  that  it 
is  not  the  putting  away  a  wife  improperly,  but  it  is  the 
marrying  another  before  she  is  dead,  that  is  the  act  of 
adultery.  And  on  the  woman's  side  the  adultery  can- 
not consist  in  being  put  away,  but  in  marrying  another 
man  while  her  husband  lives.  Hence  for  a  man  to 
have  two  wives,  or  a  woman  two  husbands,  living  at  the 


MARRIAGE    AND    DIVORCE.  413 

same  time,  divorced  or  not,  is  adultery,  with  the  sole 
exceptions  noted  below, 

(6.)  Oar  Confession  teaches  that  marriage  is  lawful 
for  all  sorts  of  people  who  have  intelligence  sufficient 
to  consent.  The  Romish  Church  allows  that  marriage 
is  lawful  for  the  great  mass  of  men  as  a  concession  to 
the  weakness  of  the  flesh,  but  maintain  that  a  life  of 
celibacy  is  both  more  meritorious  and  more  conducive 
to  spiritual  elevation.  Hence  they  say  a  life  of  celibacy 
is  recommended  by  Christ  (Matt.  xix.  10-12)  as  one  of 
his  evangelical  counsels,  by  the  observance  of  which 
supererogatory  merit  may  be  attained,  and  hence  the 
Romish  Church  imposes  it  as  a  universal  and  imperative 
obligation  upon  their  clergy. 

This  all  Protestants  deny  for  the  following  reasons: 

(1.)  God  created  man,  male  and  female,  and  consti- 
tuted the  relation  of  the  sexes,  and  ordained  marriage 
in  Paradise  when  man  was  innocent.  Marriage,  there- 
fore, must  be  purely  good,  and  a  means  of  good  in  itself, 
except  when  abused  by  man. 

(2.)  The  relation  is  honored  in  being  selected  as  the 
highest  earthly  type  of  the  grandest  heavenly  fact — 
namely,  the  mystical  union  of  the  eternal  Word  with 
his  Bride  the  Church.  Eph.  v.  23-33. 

(3.)  Reason  and  experience  unite  in  showing  that  the 
relation  is  the  best  conceivable  condition  for  the  bring- 
ing out  and  educating  the  noblest  moral  instincts  and 
faculties  of  human  nature.  The  best  and  noblest  men 
of  the  Old  World  and  the  New  have  been  formed  in 
the  family. 

(4.)  The  vast  experiment  of  celibacy  on  the  part  of 
the  priesthood  and  of  the  monastic  houses  of  the  Roman 


414  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

Church  proves  our  position  by  showing  the  impoverish* 
ing  and  degrading  tendency  of  the  opposite  system. 
The  true  meaning  of  what  is  taught  by  our  Saviour 
(Matt.  xix.  10-12),  and  by  Paul  (1  Cor.  vii.  1-40),  is 
that  the  unmarried  are  exposed  to  less  worldly  care  than 
'the  married;  therefore,  that  in  times  of  persecution  and 
public  danger,  and  with  reference  to  some  special  kind 
of  service  to  which  God  providentially  calls  a  man,  it 
may  be  both  his  interest  and  his  duty  not  to  marry.  It 
appears  evident  that  even  in  the  present  age  some  kinds 
of  missionary  service  both  at  home  and  abroad  might 
be  more  efficiently  accomplished  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  good  of  men  if  our  younger  ministers  would 
consent  to  regard  marriage  as  less  than  absolutely  esseu- 
tial,  and  in  this  respect  also  to  "  seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness." 

4th.  The  principle  that  professors  of  the  true  should 
not  intermarry  with  professors  of  a  false  religion,  and 
that  true  believers  should  not  intermarry  with  the  un- 
godly, touches  not  that  which  is  essential  to  the  validity 
of  marriage,  but  that  which  belongs  to  its  perfection, 
and  brings  in  question  not  the  reality  of  the  marriage 
when  formed,  but  the  propriety  of  forming  it.  Paul 
teaches  that  if  one  of  the  parties  of  a  previous  marriage 
becomes  a  Christian,  the  other  remaining  a  heathen,  the 
Christian  brother  or  sister  remains  bound  by  the  mar- 
riage-tie as  before,  unless  the  heathen  party  voluntarily 
abandon  them,  and  so  dissolve  the  relation,  when  the 
Christian  is  no  longer  bound.  1  Cor.  vii.  12,  13.  On 
the  same  principle,  the  marriages  at  present  so  common 
between  the  converted  and  unconverted  are  unquestion- 
ably valid,  and  to  be  respected  as  such. 


! 


MARRIAGE    AND    DIVORCE.  415 

It  nevertheless  remains  true  that  true  Christians  owe 
it  both  to  Christ  and  to  their  own  souls  not  to  contract 
such  alliances.  For  how  can  one  who  possesses  the 
mind  and  the  spirit  of  Christ,  whose  affections  are  as  a 
practical  fact  set  upon  things  above,  whose  motives, 
aims  and  inspirations  are  heavenly,  become  one  flesh 
and  heart,  dwell  in  the  most  intimate  of  all  possible 
communion,  with  a  soul  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  (see 
2  Cor.  vi.  14,  18)?  If  such  a  union  is  formed,  it  must 
follow  either  that  the  sacred  ordinance  of  marriage  is 
desecrated  by  a  union  of  bodies  where  there  is  no  union 
of  hearts,  or  in  the  intimate  fellowship  of  soul  with 
soul  the  believer  will  be  greatly  depressed  in  his  inward 
spiritual  life  and  greatly  hindered  in  his  attempts  to 
serve  his  Master  in  the  world.  1  Cor.  vii.  39. 

Section  IV. — Marriage  ought  not  to  be  within  the  degrees  of 
consanguinity  or  affinity  forbidden  in  the  Word  ;8  nor  can  such 
incestuous  marriages  ever  be  made  lawful  by  any  law  of  man  or 
consent  of  parties,  so  as  those  persons  may  live  together  as  man 
and  wife.9  The  man  may  not  marry  any  of  his  wife's  kindred 
nearer  in  blood  than  he  may  of  his  own,10  nor  the  woman  of  her 
husband's  kindred  nearer  in  blood  than  of  her  own. 

Section  V. — Adultery  or  fornication  committed  after  a  con- 
tract, being  detected  before  marriage,  giveth  just  occasion  to  the 
innocent  party  to  dissolve  that  contract.11  In  the  case  of  adul- 
tery after  marriage,  it  is  lawful  for  the  innocent  party  to  sue  out 
a  divorce,12  and  after  the  divorce  to  marry  another,  as  if  the  of- 
fending party  were  dead.18 

Section  VI. — Although  the  corruption  of  man  be  such  as  h 
apt  to  study  arguments  unduly  to  put  asunder  those  whom  God 
hath  joined  together  in  marriage,  yet  nothing  but  adultery  or 
such  wilful  desertion  as  can  in  no  way  be  remedied  by  the  Church 
or  civil  magistrate  is  cause  sufficient  of  dissolving  the  bond  of 
marriage;14  wherein  a  public  and  orderly  course  jf  proceeding  is 


416  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

to  be  observed,  and  the  persons  concerned  in  it  not  left  to  theii 
own  wills  and  discretion  in  their  own  case.15 

8  Lev.  xviii. ;  1  Cor.  v.  1;  Amos  ii.  7. — 9  Mark  vi.  18;  Lev.  xviii.  24-28. 
— 10  Lev.  xx.  19-21.— u  Matt.  i.  18-20.— 12  Matt.  v.  31,  32.— 13  Matt.  xix. 
9 :  K-m.  vii.  2,  3.— 14  Matt.  xix.  8,  9;  1  Cor.  vii.  15;  Matt.  xix.  6.— 15  Deut, 
x*St,  1-4. 

These  Sections  teach  the  divine  law  of  marriage  as  to 
incest  and  as  to  divorce. 

1st.  Incest  consists  of  sexual  intercourse  between 
parties  forbidden  by  the  divine  law  to  many,  because 
of  their  relationship.  Marriage  between  these  parties 
is  impossible;  and  no  matter  what  may  be  the  provisions 
of  human  laws  or  the  decisions  of  human  courts,  such 
pretended  marriages  are  void  ab  initio — invalid  in  es- 
sence as  well  as  improper  and  injurious.  Since  the 
degrees  of  relationship  within  which  marriage  is  ex- 
cluded differ  in  nearness,  so  the  crime  of  incest  differs, 
according  to  these  varying  degrees,  from  the  highest  to 
the  least  measure  of  criminality.  The  obligation  to 
avoid  intermarriage  between^  near  blood-relations  is  a 
dictate  of  nature  as  well  as  of  the  word  of  God. 

The  only  law  on  this  subject  in  the  Scriptures  is  the 
Levitical  law  recorded  in  Lev.  xx.  10-21.  If  this  law 
is  still  binding,  it  carries  with  it  the  principle  that  it  is 
incest  for  a  man  to  cohabit  with  any  one  of  his  deceased 
wife's  relations  nearer  in  blood  than  it  is  lawful  for  him 
to  do  of  his  own.  If  this  law  is  not  binding  now,  there 
is  no  other  law  of  God  remaining  on  the  subject  of  incest 
except  the  law  of  nature. 

The  Greek  and  Roman  Catholic  churches  agreed  in 
holding  that  this  law  is  still  binding,  since  the  reason 
of  the  law  rests  upon  permanent  relationships,  and  not 


MARRIAGE   AND    DIVORCE.  417 

apon  any  special  circumstances  peculiar  to  society  among 
the  Jews.  All  branches  of  the  Protestant  Church — 
Episcopal,  Lutheran  and  Presbyterian — have  main- 
tained the  same  principle  in  their  Confessions  of  Faith 
or  canons  of  discipline.  It  is  asserted  in  these  Sections 
of  our  Confession.  But  a  great  diversity  of  sentiment 
and  practice  prevails  in  different  parts  of  our  Church 
on  this  subject,  and  for  the  most  part  the  enforcement 
of  this  rule  has  been  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  major- 
ity of  each  local  church  court.  Several  efforts  have  been 
made,  in  1826  and  1827  and  1843,  1845  and  1847,*  to 
have  this  Section  of  this  Chapter  changed,  but  with- 
out effect. 

2d.  The  divine  law  as  to  DIVORCE  is,  that  marriage 
is  a  contract  for  life  between  one  man  and  one  woman, 
and  that  it  is,  ipso  facto,  dissolved  only  by  death  (Rom. 
vii.  2,  3),  and  that  the  only  causes  upon  which  any  civil 
authority  can  dissolve  the  union  of  those  whom  God 
has  joined  together  are  (a)  adultery,  (b)  wilful,  causeless 
and  incurable  desertion. 

(1.)  The  only  causes  upon  which  it  is  lawful  to  grant 
a  divorce  are — (a)  adultery;  this  is  explicitly  allowed 
by  Christ  (Matt.  v.  31,32;  xix.  9);  and  [b)  wilful, 
causeless  and  incurable  desertion.  This  is  allowed  by 
Paul  to  the  Christian  husband  or  wife  deserted  by  their 
heathen  partner.  1  Cor.  vii.  15.  The  reason  in  the  ease 
is  also  self-evident,  since  such  desertion,  being  total  and 
incurable,  makes  the  marriage  an  empty  name,  void  of 
all  reality,  and,  being  causeless,  leaves  the  deserting 
party  without  remaining  rights  to  be  defended. 

(2.)  Such  causes,  however,  do  not,  ipso  facto,  dissolve 
*  See  Baird's  Digest,  pp.  163-168. 


418  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

the  marriage  bond,  bat  only  give  the  right  to  the  in- 
nocent party,  if  they  so  elect,  to  demand  that  it  shall  be 
dissolved  by  competent  authority.  And  if  they  do  de- 
mand the  dissolution,  they  are  not  left  to  their  own  dis- 
cretion in  the  case,  but  they  must  seek  for  the  vindication 
of  their  rights  at  the  hands  of  the  public  authorities  and 
according  to  the  law  of  the  land. 

(3.)  The  civil  law,  however,  has  no  authority  to  grant 
divorces  upon  any  other  grounds  than  those  above 
defined  as  allowed  by  the  law  of  God.  Whenever  they 
do  so,  as  is  constantly  done  in  fact,  the  civil  authorities 
put  themselves  into  direct  conflict  with  the  law  of  God 
in  the  case.  Hence  all  Christians  and  church  courts 
are  bound  in  such  cases  to  disregard  the  judgment  of  the 
civil  authority,  and  to  regard  and  treat  such  unlawful 
divorces  as  null  and  void.  And  if  the  parties  to  a  mar- 
riage unrighteously  dissolved  marry  again,  they  are  to  be 
regarded  and  treated  by  those  who  fear  God  as  living 
in  those  new  marriages  in  the  sin  of  adultery.  Matt.  xix. 
8,  9;  Acts  iv.  19;  v.  29. 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  three 
Sections  of  this  Chapter? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  third  there  taught? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth  there  taught? 

5.  What  is  the  fifth  there  taught? 

6.  Prove  that  marriage  is  a  divine  institution. 

7.  What  is  involved  in  saying  that  it  is  a  religious  as  well  as  a 
civil  contract,  and  what  consequences  follow  therefrom  ? 

8.  What  is  involved  in  saying  that  it  is  also  a  civil  contract, 
and  what  consequences  follow  therefrom? 


MARRIAGE   AND    DIVORCE.  419 

9.  Which  should  control  the  other — the  divine  law  or  the  hu- 
man law  of  marriage?  and  in  cases  of  conflict  which  should  takn 
precedence  ? 

10.  In  what  respects  have  the  civil  laws  of  marriage  in  Eng- 
land for  the  most  part  erred? 

11.  In  what  respect  have  they  chiefly  erred  in  this  country  ? 

12.  What  are  the  main  ends  designed  to  be  promoted  by  mar- 
riage ? 

13.  Prove  that  polygamy  is  not  lawful  according  to  the  orig- 
inal law  of  marriage. 

14.  How  could  it  have  been  right  in  patriarchs  to  practice 
polygamy  ? 

15.  Show  that  Christ  explicitly  withdrew  the  permission. 

16.  On  what  ground  do  the  Romanists  maintain  the  superior 
sanctity  of  a  life  of  celibacy,  and  enjoin  it  upon  all  their  priests? 

17.  Upon  what  grounds  do  all  Protestants  maintain  an  oppo- 
site opinion  ? 

18.  What  is  the  true  meaning  of  the  teachings  of  Christ  (Matt. 
xix.  10-12)  and  of  Paul  (1  Cor.  vii.  1-40)  ? 

19.  What  practical  bearing  have  these  teachings  upon  the 
duties  of  Christians  in  these  days? 

20.  Does  difference  of  religion  invalidate  the  marriage  bond? 

21.  Prove  that  true  believers  ought  not  to  be  unequally  yoked 
with  the  ungodly. 

22.  What  is  the  subject  of  the  fourth  Section  ? 

23.  What  is  incest? 

24.  Show  that  marriage  within  the  forbidden  relationship  is 
impossible. 

25.  Where  is  the  biblical  law  of  incest  to  be  found  ? 

26.  What  does  that  law  teach  as  to  the  prohibited  degrees  of 
affinity  as  well  as  relationship  ? 

27.  What  has  been  historically  the  judgment  of  the  Christian 
Church  as  to  the  continued  obligation  of  the  Levitical  law  ? 

28.  What  is  the  prevailing  opinion  and  practice  of  our  Church 
in  recent  times? 

29.  What  event  alone,  ipso  facto,  dissolves  a  marriage? 

30.  What  causes  alone  justify  the  dissolution  of  a  marriage  by 
human  tribunals? 


420  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

31.  Prove  that  no  other  causes  justify  divorce. 

32.  How  must  a  divorce  upon  these  justifiable  grounds  be  ob« 
rained  ? 

33.  How  ought  Christian  and  church  courts  to  act  in  cases  in 
which  the  civil  authorities  have  granted  divorces,  and  permitted 
new  marriages  not  allowed  by  the  law  of  G-od  ? 

34.  Prove  the  truth  of  your  answer. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

OF   THE   CHURCH. 

Section  I. — The  catholic  or  universal  Church,  which  is  in- 
visible, consists  of  the  whole  number  of  the  elect  that  have  been, 
are,  or  shall  be,  gathered  into  one,  under  Christ  the  head  thereof; 
and  is  the  spouse,  the  body,  the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all 
in  all.1 

Section  II. — The  visible  Church,  which  is  also  catholic  or 
universal  under  the  Gospel  (not  confined  to  one  nation,  as  be- 
fore, under  the  law),  consists  of  all  those  throughout  the  world 
that  profess"  the  true  religion,2  together  with  their  children  ;3  and 
is  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,4  the  house  and  family 
of  God,5  out  of  which  there  is  no  ordinary  possibilit}'  of  salvation.6 

Section  IIL  —Unto  this  catholic  visible  Church  Christ  hath 
given  the  ministry,  oracles  and  ordinances  of  God.  for  the  gather- 
ing and  perfecting  of  the  saints  in  this  life  to  the  end  of  the  world ; 
and  doth  by  his  own  presence  and  Spirit,  according  to  his  pro- 
mise, make  them  effectual  thereunto.7 

i  Eph.  i.  10,  22,  23  ;  v.  23,  27,  32  ;  Col.  i.  18.— 2  1  Cor.  i.  2  ;  xii.  12,  13  ; 
Ps.  ii.  8 ;  Rev.  vii.  9 ;  Rom.  xv.  9-12.— 3  1  Cor.  vii.  11 ;  Acts  ii.  39  :  Ezek. 
xvi.  20,  21 ;  Rom.  xi.  16;  Gen.  iii.  15  ;  xvii.  7.— 4  Matt  xiii.  47  ;  Isa.  ix. 
7.— 5  Eph.  ii.  19;  iii.  15.— 6  Acts  ii.  47.— 7  1  Cor.  xii.  28;  Eph.  iv.  11-13; 
Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20  ;  Isa.  lix.  21. 

The  word  catholic  moans  universal,  and  therefore  is 
the  proper  title  of  the  true  Church  of  Christ,  viewed  as 
one  body,  composed  of  many  members,  existing  in  dif- 
ferent places  and  at  different  times,  and  is  consequently 
very  improperly  applied  to  that  corrupt  and  sehismati- 
cal  body,  the  Church  of  Rome. 

421 


422  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

The  word  in  the  New  Testament  corresponding  to  the 
English  word  church  is  ecclesia  (exxtyaia);  this  is  de- 
rived from  the  word  calein  (xaAetv),  to  call,  to  call  out, 
and  thus  constitute  a  separate  body,  which  word  is  used 
to  express  the  effectual  call  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whereby 
he  brings  dead  souls  to  life  in  the  work  of  regeneration. 
Rom.  viii.  28-30 ;  1  Pet,  ii.  9;  v.  10.  The  word  church, 
therefore,  is  a  collective  term  including  the  whole  body 
of  the  "called"  (x)jjtoi)  or  the  "elect"  (£x?.sxzoi)  or  of 
"believers."  Rev.  xvii.  14;  1  Cor.  i.  2,  24. 

To  this  Church,  or  collective  body  of  the  "effectually 
called,"  all  the  promises  of  the  Gospel  are  addressed. 
It  is  said  to  be  the  "  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth" 
(1  Tim.  iii.  15) ;  the  body  and  fulness  of  Christ  (Eph.  i. 
22,  23) ;  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife  (Rev.  xxi.  2,  9) ;  and 
it  is  affirmed  that  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it.  Matt.  xvi.  18. 

As  every  part  of  this  entire  body  possesses  the  com- 
mon nature  of  the  whole,  the  common  term  Church  is 
naturally  applied  sometimes  to  the  entire  body  of  all 
nations  and  ages  conceived  of  as  a  unit  (Col.  i.  18);  and 
sometimes  to  the  church  of  a  particular  province  or  city, 
as  "  the  Church  of  the  Thessalonians  "  or  "  the  Church  of 
Ephesus"  (2  Thess.  i.  1  ;  Rev.  ii.  1) ;  or  in  the  plural  for 
the  several  individual  churches  of  a  province,  as  "the 
churches  in  Asia"  or  "the  churches  of  Macedonia"  oi 
of  "  Galatia"  (1  Cor.  xvi.  1,  2  ;  2  Cor.  viii.  1 ;  Rev.  i.  4) : 
and  sometimes  the  word  is  applied  to  designate  some 
Christian  family,  as  "  the  Church  in  the  house  of  Pris- 
cilla  and  Aquila."  Rom.  xvi.  5;  Col.  iv.  15;  Philem.  2. 

Our  Confession  teaches  in  these  Sections — 

1st,  That  there  is  such  a  collective  body,  comprising 


THE   CHURCH.  423 

all  the  elect  of  God  of  all  nations  and  generations,  called 
the  Church  invisible.  The  fact  that  there  is  such  a 
body  must  be  believed  by  every  person  who  believes 
that  all  men,  of  every  age  and  nation  since  Adam,  who 
received  Christ  and  experienced  the  power  of  his  re- 
demption, are  to  be  saved,  and  that  all  who  reject  him 
will  be  lost.  That  this  entire  body  in  its  ideal  com- 
pleteness, not  one  true  member  wanting,  not  one  false 
member  marring  its  symmetry,  has  been  constantly  pres- 
ent to  the  mind  of  God  from  eternity,  must  be  believed 
by  all  persons  who  acknowledge  either  or  both  the  divine 
foreknowledge  and  foreordination. 

This  body,  thus  seen  in  its  absolute  fulness  and  per- 
fection by  God  from  eternity,  will  be  at  last  revealed  to 
the  universe  in  all  its  completeness  and  glory,  so  that  it 
will  transcend  all  the  other  works  of  God  in  its  visible 
excellences.  And  it  is  seen  in  part  by  us  now  in  the 
successive  ages  as  it  is  gathered  in,  because  every  mem- 
ber of  it  is  a  man  or  woman  living  and  acting  in  the 
world,  and  the  spiritual  life  whereby  they  are  constituted 
members  of  the  Church  makes  itself  manifest  by  its 
fruits.  This  Church  is  called  invisible,  however,  because 
(a)  the  portions  of  it  at  any  time  or  place  visible  ire  im- 
measurably small  in  comparison  with  the  body  as  a 
whole  in  its  full  complement  of  saints  of  all  nations  and 
generations,  and  (b)  because  even  in  the  sections  of  this 
body  visible  to  us  its  outlines  are  very  uncertain.  Mai  y 
who  appear  as  parts  of  it  do  not  really  belong  to  it,  and 
many  may  really  belong  to  it  whose  union  with  it  is  not 
manifest.  The  lines  are  not  to  human  eye  drawn  with 
any  degree  of  accuracy  between  the  Church  and  the 
world.     In  the  mean  time,  the  true  Church,  not  yet  per- 


424  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

fectly  developed  and  manifested,  lurks  in  the  phenom- 
enal Church,  as  the  grain  of  the  growing  corn  lurks  ic 
the  ear,  and  in  this  sense  it  is  invisible.  For  that  which 
constitutes  the  essence  of  this  Church  is  not  the  visible 
profession  or  fruitful  ness,  but  that  invisible  indwelling 
divine  life,  from  which  the  profession  and  the  fruitful- 
ness  proceed. 

2d.  These  Sections  teach  that  there  is  also  a  catholic 
or  universal  visible  Church,  consisting  of  those  of  every 
nation  who  profess  the  true  religion,  together  with  their 
children.  This  proposition  involves  —  (1.)  The  truth 
that  the  true  Church,  consisting  of  persons,  a  part  of 
whom  are  always  living,  and,  with  more  or  less  faithful- 
ness, bringing  forth  visible  fruits  of  holiness  on  the 
earth,  of  course  is  itself  always  in  part,  and  with  greater 
or  less  clearness,  visible.  The  universal  visible  Church 
is  therefore  not  a  different  Church  from  that  which  has 
just  been  described  as  invisible.  It  is  the  same  body 
as  its  successive  generations  pass  in  their  order  and  are 
imperfectly  discriminated  from  the  rest  of  mankind  by 
the  eye  of  man.  (2.)  The  truth  that  God  has  com- 
manded his  people  to  organize  themselves  into  distinct 
visible  ecclesiastical  communities,  with  constitutions,  * 
laws  and  officers,  badges,  ordinances  and  discipline,  for 
the  great  purpose  of  giving  visibility  to  his  kingdom, 
of  making  known  the  gospel  of  that  kingdom,  and  of 
gathering  in  all  its  elect  subjects.  Each  one  of  these 
distinct  organized  communities  which  is  faithful  to  the 
great  King  is  an  integral  part  of  the  visible  Church,  and 
all  together,  of  all  names  and  nations,  constitute  the 
catholic  or  universal  visible  Church.  The  conditions 
of  human   life,  physical,  political  and  social,  and   the 


THE   CHURCH.  425 

imperfections  of  Christians,  render  impossible  a  practical 
organic  union  of  all  these  organized  bodies  ;  yet  that  they 
all  are  one  visible  Church  is  self-evident,  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  all  visible  parts  of  the  true  spiritual  or  in- 
visible Church,  which,  being  "  the  body  of  Christ/'  can 
never  be  divided.  (3.)  The  truth  also  that  since  the 
Church  is  rendered  visible  by  the  profession  and  out- 
ward obedience  of  its  members,  and  since  no  class  of 
men  are  ever  endowed  with  the  power  of  discriminating 
with  absolute  accuracy  the  genuineness  of  Christian  cha- 
racteristics, it  necessarily  follows  that  a  credible  pro- 
fession, as  presumptive  evidence  of  real  religion,  consti- 
tutes a  person  a  member  of  the  visible  Church.  By  a 
credible  profession  is  meant  a  profession  of  the  true  reli- 
gion sufficiently  intelligent  and  sufficiently  corroborated 
by  the  daily  life  of  the  professor  to  be  credited  as  genuine. 
Every  such  profession  is  ground  for  the  presumption  that 
the  person  is  a  member  of  the  true  Church,  and  conse- 
quently constitutes  him  a  member  of  the  visible  Church, 
and  lays  an  obligation  upon  all  other  Christians  to  regard 
and  treat  him  accordingly.  This  visible  Church  is  called 
"the  kingdom  of  heaven"  in  the  earth,  and  its  nature 
and  progress  are  set  forth  in  the  parables  of  the  "sower 
of  the  seed,"  the  "  field  and  the  tares,"  the  "  mustard 
seed,"  the  "  leaven,"  the  "  net  which  was  cast  into  the 
sea  and  gathered  fish  of  every  kind  "  etc.  Matt.  xiii. 
(4.)  Also  the  truth  that  the  children  of  all  professors  of 
the  true  religion  are,  on  that  account,  fellow-members 
with  their  parents  of  the  visible  Church.  This  import- 
ant principle  will  properly  come  up  for  discussion  and 
proof  under  Chapter  xxviii.  §  4. 

3d.  These  Sections  teach  that  God  has  given  to  this 


426  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

universal  visible  Church,  in  all  its  branches  and  con- 
stituent elements  (a)  the  inspired  Scriptures  as  an 
infallible  oracle  and  rule  of  faith  and  practice ;  (b)  the 
Gospel  ministry — an  order  not  qualified  and  indicated 
by  manual  contact,  but  by  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  (c)  the  ordinances,  such  as  preaching, 
prayer,  singing  of  praise  and  the  holy  sacraments  of 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  discipline.  And 
(d)  that  the  great  end  designed  to  be  accomplished  by 
this  grant  is  (1)  the  gathering  in  01  the  elect  from  th: 
children  of  the  Church  or  from  the  world,  and  (2)  the 
perfecting  of  the  saints  when  thus  gathered.  Eph.  iv. 
11-13.  And  (e)  that  the  success  of  these  agencies  in 
attaining  this  end  is  secured  beyond  peradventure  by 
the  promise  of  Christ  to  be  with  them  and  to  ren- 
der them  effectual  until  the  end  of  the  world.  Matt, 
xxviii.  20. 

4th.  These  Sections  teach  that  out  of  the  bounds  of 
this  universal  visible  Church  there  is  no  ordinary  possi- 
bility of  salvation.  This  proposition  is  believed  by 
our  Church  and  by  all  other  evangelical  Christians  to 
apply  only  to  adults  who  are  out  of  the  pale  of  the  visi- 
ble Church.  All  the  members  of  the  human  race  dying 
in  infancy  are  believed  to  be  saved  through  the  merits 
of  Christ.  Since,  then,  the  universal  visible  Church 
consists  of  all  the  professors  of  the  true  religion  in  the 
world,  to  say  that  out  of  it  there  is  ordinarily  no  possi- 
bility of  salvation  is  only  saying — (a.)  That  God  has 
never  in  any  way  revealed  his  intention  of  saving  any 
sane  adult  destitute  of  the  personal  knowledge  of  Christ. 
(b.)  That  an  unexceptional  experience  in  heathen  lands 
leads  us  to  the  conviction  that  no:  e  in  such  a  condition 


the  church.  427 

live  saved,  (c.)  That  God  has  very  emphatically  de- 
clared that  those  who  deny  his  Son  before  men  shall 
not  be  saved.  Matt.  x.  33.  (d.)  That  every  man  who 
hears  the  gospel  is  commanded  to  confess  Christ  before 
men — that  is,  to  become  a  public  visible  professor  of  the 
true  religion.  Matt.  x.  32.  The  conditions  of  salvation 
laid  down  in  Rom.  x.  9,  10  are — "  If  thou  shalt  con- 
fess with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe 
with  thy  heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead, 
thou  shalt  be  saved.  For  with  the  heart  man  believeth 
unto  righteousness ;  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is 
made  unto  salvation."  There  are  obviously  various 
ways  in  which  Christ  may  be  publicly  acknowledged 
and  confessed.  In  some  way  every  person  having  the 
love  of  Christ  in  his  heart  will  confess  him.  But  our 
Confession  intends  in  these  Sections  to  teach  further 
that  ordinarily,  where  there  is  the  knowledge  and  oppor- 
tunity, God  requires  every  one  who  loves  Christ  to  con- 
fess him  in  the  regular  way  of  joining  the  community 
of  his  people  and  of  taking  the  sacramental  badges  of 
his  discipleship.  That  this  is  commanded  will  be  shown 
under  Chapters  xxvii.-xxix.  And  that  when  providen- 
tially possible  every  Christian  heart  will  be  prompt  to 
obey  in  this  matter,  is  self-evident.  When  shame  or 
fear  of  persecution  be  the  preventing  considerations, 
then  the  failure  to  obey  is  equivalent  to  the  positive 
rejection  of  Christ,  since  the  rejection  of  him  will  have 
to  be  publicly  pretended  in  such  case  in  order  to  avoid 
the  consequences  attending  upon  the  public  acknowledg- 
ment of  him. 

Section   IV. — This   catholic   Church    hath   been   sometimes 
more,  sometimes  less  visible.8     And  particular  churches,  which 


428  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

are  members  thereof,  are  more  or  less  pure,  according  as  the 
doctrine  of  the  gospel  is  taught  and  embraced,  ordinances  ad 
ministered,  and  public  worship  performed  more  or  less  purely  in 
them.9 

Section  V. — The  purest  churches  under  heaven  are  subject 
both  to  mixture  and  error  ;10  and  some  have  so  degenerated  as  to 
become  no  churches  of  Christ,  but  synagogues  of  Satan.11 
Nevertheless,  there  shall  be  always  a  Church  on  earth,  to  wor- 
ship Grod  according  to  his  will.12 

Section  VI. — There  is  no  other  head  of  the  Church  but  the 
tord  Jesus  Christ  :13  nor  can  the  Pope  of  Rome  in  any  sense  be 
the  head  thereof;  but  is  that  Antichrist,  that  man  of  sin  and 
son  of  perdition,  that  exalteth  himself  in  the  Church  against 
Christ,  and  all  that  is  called  God.14 

8  Rom.  xi.  3,  4;  Rev.  xii.  6,  14.— »  Rev.  ii.,  iii  j  1  Cor.  v.  6,  7.— 10  1  Cor. 
xiii.  12;  Rev.  ii.,  iii;  Matt.  xiii.  24-30,  47.— u  Rev.  xviii.  2;  Rom.  xi. 
18-22.— 12  Matt.  xvi.  18;  Ps.  lxxii.  17;  cii.  28;  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20.— 
13  Col.  i.  18 ;  Eph.  i.  22.— "  Matt,  xxiii.  S-10;  2  Thess.  ii.  3,  4,  8,  9;  Rev. 
xiii.  6. 

All  that  is  taught  in  these  Sections  necessarily  follows 
from  what  we  have  above  ascertained  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  visible  Church : 

1st.  Since  the  catholic  or  universal  visible  Church 
consists  of  all  the  professors  of  the  true  religion  in  the 
world,  and  of  all  the  particular  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tions which  continue  loyal  to  the  Head,  and  maintain 
doctrines  essentially  sound,  it  must  necessarily  follow 
that  the  Church  as  a  whole  is  in  any  age  more  or  less 
visible,  and  any  particular  constituent  church  more  or 
less  pure  in  proportion — (a)  to  the  purity  of  the  doc- 
trine they  profess  and  the  worship  they  maintain ;  (b) 
tc  their  zeal  and  spiritual  character  and  energy;  and  (c) 
to  the  purity  of  their  membership  maintained  by  disci- 
pline. In  proportion  as  these  are  all  advanced  in  per- 
fection, and    prevail    generally    throughout   the    whole 


THE   CHURCH.  429 

body,  in  the  same  degree  will  the  entire  Church  appear 
more  visibly  discriminated  from  the  world  and  mani- 
fest in  her  entire  outline.  In  the  same  measure  also 
will  every  individual  ecclesiastical  organization  be  pure 
— that  is,  free  from  heterogeneous  elements — and  conse- 
crated to  the  accomplishment  of  the  ends  for  which  it  is 
designed. 

2d.  It  follows,  also,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  vis- 
ible Church  and  its  condition  in  this  world,  that  its 
purity  is  a  matter  of  degree,  varying  at  different  times 
and  in  different  sections.  The  teaching  of  Scripture  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  kingdom  under  the  present  dispen- 
sation (Matt,  xiii.),  the  nature  of  man  yet  imperfectly 
sanctified,  and  the  universal  experience  of  the  churches, 
lead  us  to  the  conclusion  that  the  very  purest  churches 
are  yet  very  imperfect,  and  will  continue  so  to  the  end, 
and  that  some  will  become  so  corrupt  as  to  lose  their 
character  as  true  churches  of  Christ  altogether.  This 
was  the  case  with  the  ancient  Church  under  the  reign 
of  Ahab,  when  the  children  of  Israel  had  apostatized 
from  the  service  of  the  true  God  to  such  an  extent  that 
Elijah  thought  he  was  the  only  one  left  faithful.  Even 
in  that  state  of  affairs  the  Lord  declared,  "  Yet  have  I 
left  me  seven  thousand  in  Israel,  all  the  knees  that  have 
not  bowed  unto  Baal."  1  Kings  xix.  18.  Even  more 
entire  deterioration  has  happened  to  the  ancient  churches 
founded  by  the  apostles  in  the  East  and  by  their  successors 
in  Northern  Africa.  The  churches  which  acknowledge 
the  supremacy  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  have  abandoned 
the  faith  and  obscured  the  glory  of  their  Lord  in  one 
direction,  while  many  professedly  Protestant  churches — 
as  the  English  and  American  Socinians  and  the  Ger 


430  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

man  Rationalists — have  made  an  equal  apostasy  in  an« 
other. 

The  Church  of  Rome  maintains  that  the  promise  of 
Christ  secures  the  infallible  orthodoxy  and  purity  of  the 
visible  organization,  in  subjection  to  apostolically-or- 
dained  bishops,  to  the  end  of  the  world.  But  the 
Church  whose  infallible  orthodoxy  and  purity  is  guar- 
anteed by  the  divine  promise  is  no  outward  visible 
organization  or  succession  of  bishops  or  priests ;  it  is 
the  particular  Church  of  no  nation  or  generation,  but  it 
is  the  true  invisible  body  of  the  elect  or  of  true  believ- 
ers of  all  nations  and  ages.  That  it  is  so  is  proved — ■ 
(1.)  From  the  fact  that  for  eighteen  hundred  years  the 
promise  has  been  fulfilled  in  the  sense  we  have  defined, 
but  has  never  been  fulfilled  in  the  sense  the  Romish 
Church  demands.  They  have  themselves  led  the  defec- 
tion from  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  apostolic  Church. 
And  among  Romanists  and  Protestants  alike,  visible 
ecclesiastical  organizations  are  continually  changing 
their  character  and  relations  to  the  truth.  (2.)  The 
Epistles  are  addressed  to  "  the  Church,"  and  the  salu- 
tations explain  that  phrase  by  the  equivalents  "  the 
called,"  "  the  saints,"  etc.  See  the  salutations  of  First 
and  Second  Corinthians,  Ephesians,  Colossians,  First 
and  Second  Peter,  and  Jude.  The  same  attributes  are 
ascribed  to  the  members  of  the  true  Church  in  the  body 
of  the  Epistles.  1  Cor.  i.  30;  iii.  16;  vi.  11  ;  Eph.  ii. 
3-8,  19-22;  Col.  i.  21;  ii.  10;  1  Pet.  ii.  9.  (3.)  The 
attributes  ascribed  to  the  true  Church  prove  it  to  be 
spiritual,  and,  in  the  sense  explained,  invisible,  and  not 
an  outward  organized  succession.  Eph.  v.  27 ;  1  Pet.  ii. 
5;  John  x.  37;  Col.  i,  18,24. 


THE   CHURCH.  431 

3d.  It  follows,  nevertheless,  from  the  relation  which 
the  visible  Church  sustains  to  the  invisible  Church,  that 
since,  according  to  divine  promise,  the  latter  can  never 
entirely  fail  from  the  earth  (Matt.  xvi.  18),  so  likewise, 
however  the  former  may  be  obscured  by  heresies  or 
lessened  by  defection,  it  can  never  be  entirely  wanting. 
Wherever  the  true  Church  is,  it  will  be  more  or  less 
visible ;  not  in  proportion,  however,  to  the  size  or 
pretension  of  the  organization  with  which  it  may  be 
associated,  but  in  proportion  to  the  purity  of  its  faith 
and  the  spiritual  activity  and  fruitfulness  of  its  mem- 
bership. 

4th.  That  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  absolute 
and  supreme  Head  of  the  Church  is  self-evident,  is 
abundantly  asserted  in  Scripture  (Col.  i.  18,  and  Eph. 
i.  20-23),  and  has  never  been  denied  by  any  Christians. 

Many  have,  however,  maintained  that,  as  the  visible 
Church  on  earth  has  a  government  and  laws,  and  since 
these  must  be  administered  by  a  visible  authority,  so 
the  Church  must  have  an  earthly  visible  head,  acting 
upon  authority  delegated  by  Christ  and  as  his  represent- 
ative. The  Church  of  Rome  claims  this  for  the  pope. 
"So  lias  Christ — the  Head  and  Spouse — placed  over  his 
Church,  which  he  governs  by  his  most  inward  Spirit,  a 
man  to  be  the  vicar  and  minister  of  his  power;  for  as  a 
\  isible  church  requires  a  visible  head,  our  Saviour  ap- 
pointed Peter  head  and  pastor  of  all  the  faithful."* 

The  Erastian  State  churches  of  Germany  and  Great 

Britain  have  acknowledged  their  respective  sovereigns 

as  supreme  heads  of  the  Church  as  well  as  of  the  State. 

Henry  VI IT.  was  recognized   as  "supreme  head  cf  the 

•  Cat  Rom..  Pari  i.,  ch.  x.,  <-,».  II. 


432  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

Church  of  England;"  and  it  was  enacted  "that  the 
king,  his  heirs,  etc.,  shall  be  taken,  accepted  and  re- 
puted the  only  supreme  head  on  earth  of  the  Church  of 
England,  called  Anglicana  Ecclesia;  and  shall  have  and 
enjoy,  annexed  and  united  to  the  imperial  crown  of  this 
realm,  as  well  the  style  and  title  thereof,  as  all  honours, 
dignities,  immunities,  profits  and  commodities  to  the 
said  dignity  of  supreme  head  of  the  said  Church  belong- 
ing and  appertaining."*  This  supremacy  of  the  reign- 
ing sovereign  over  the  Church  is  even  made  an  article 
of  faith,  being  incorporated  into  the  Thirty-seventh 
Article  of  the  Church  of  England  :  "  The  queen's  maj- 
esty has  the  chief  power  in  this  realm  of  England,  and 
other  her  dominions ;  unto  whom  the  chief  govern- 
ment of  all  estates  of  this  realm,  whether  they  be  ecclesi- 
astical or  civil,  in  all  causes,  doth  appertain." 

In  both  these  cases,  and  in  all  cases  of  like  claims  to 
ecclesiastical  supremacy,  it  is  a  mere  question  of  fact  and 
evidence.  If,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Christ  delegated  his 
authority  either  to  the  pope  or  to  national  sovereigns, 
and  made  them,  as  his  vicars,  visible  heads  of  his  Church, 
then  we  ought  to  obey  them,  and  our  disobedience  is 
treason  to  Christ.  On  the  contrary,  if  they  have  no 
such  authority,  and  are  unable  to  prove  their  claims  by 
unquestionable  credentials,  then  their  assumption  of  such 
power  is  a  blasphemous  intrusion  upon  divine  preroga- 
tives and  treason  to  the  human  race.  It  is  obvious  that 
neither  party  can  show  any  plausible  foundation  for 
their  claims,  and  that  upon  the  slightest  interrogation 
they  fall  of  their  own  weight. 

In  the  absence  of  any  duly-accredited  visible  head  of 

*  Tko  26  Henry  VIII.,  cap.  i. 


THE   CHURCH.  433 

^he  Church,  we  are  forced  back  to  direct  dependence  for 
law  and  its  administration,  as  well  as  for  redemption, 
upon  the  great  invisible  Head.  He  presides  over  and 
governs  his  Church  (1)  through  his  inspired  word, 
which  is,  as  we  have  seen,  an  infallible,  complete  and  per- 
spicuous rule  of  faith  and  practice.  (2.)  Through  the 
apostolical  institutions  transmitted  to  us,  as  the  min- 
istry, the  sacraments,  the  ordinances,  etc.  Eph.  iv.  11. 
And  (3)  through  his  own  spiritual  presence,  which 
extends  to  all  his  members,  and  endures  to  the  end  of 
the  world.  Matt,  xviii.  20;  xxviii.  20. 

The  word  Antichrist  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  in 
i  John  ii.  18,  22 ;  iv.  3 ;  2  John  7.  The  coming  of 
the  "man  of  sin,"  the  "son  of  perdition,"  is  predicted  in 
2  Thess.  ii.  3,  4.  Interpreters  have  differed  as  to 
whether  these  phrases  were  intended  to  designate  a 
personal  opponent  of  the  Lord,  or  principles  and  sys- 
tems antagonistic  to  him  and  his  cause.  The  authors  of 
our  Confession  can  hardly  have  intended  to  declare  that 
each  individual  pope  of  the  long  succession  is  the  per- 
sonal Antichrist,  and  they  probably  meant  that  the 
papal  system  is  in  spirit,  form  and  effect  wholly  anti- 
christ ian,  and  that  it  marked  a  defection  from  apos- 
tolical Christianity  foreseen  and  foretold  in  Scripture. 
All  of  which  was  true  in  their  day,  and  is  true  in  ours. 
Wo  have  need,  however,  to  remember  that  as  the  forms 
of  evil  change,  and  the  complications  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  with  that  of  Satan  vary  with  the  progress  of 
erents,  "even  now  are  there  many  Antichrists."  1 
John  ii.  18. 


434  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  true  sense  and  right  application  of  the  word 
"catholic?'' 

2.  What  is  the  etymology  and  usage  of  the  word  translated 
"church"  in  the  New  Testament? 

3.  Prove  that  it  is  the  invisible  spiritual  Church  to  which  the 
promises  of  the  Gospel  are  addressed. 

4.  In  what  more  general  and  more  particular  senses  are  the 
words  "church"  and  "churches"  used? 

5.  What  does  our  Confession  teach  as  to  the  universal  invisible 
Church? 

6.  Why  is  this  Church  called  "  invisible?" 

7.  When  will  it  be  seen  in  its  completeness  and  unveiled  glory? 

8.  What  relation  does  the  universal  visible  Church  sustain  to 
the  invisible  Church  ? 

9.  How  does  the  fact  of  organization  affect  the  visibility  of  the 
Church? 

10.  How  can   you   prove  that  all   the   various    ecclesiastical 
organizations  extant  constitute  but  one  Church? 

11.  Who  are  members  of  the  visible  Church? 

12.  Why  does  the  mere  fact  of  profession  of  the  true  religion 
constitute  a  person  a  member  of  the  visible  Church? 

13.  What  constitutes  a  credible  profession  ? 

14.  By  what  figures  is  the  visible  Church — its  nature  and 
growth — set  forth  in  Scripture  ? 

15.  Who  besides  professors  of  the  true  religion  are  members 
of  the  visible  Church  ? 

10.  With  what  gifts  has  God  specially  endowed  the  visible 
Church? 

]  7.  To  effect  what  ends  were  these  gifts  given  ? 

18.  What  is  meant  by  the  assertion  that  outside  of  the  bounds 
of  the  visible  Church  there  is  no  ordinary  possibility  of  salvation. 

19.  What  are  the  conditions  of  salvation  set  down  in  "Rem.  x. 
9,  10? 

20.  ITow  are  men  to  confess  Christ? 


THE    CHURCH.  435 

21.  In  what  sense  is  it  necessary  for  salvation  for  men  to  con- 
fess Christ  by  communion  with  the  visible  Church  ? 

22.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  fourth,  fifth 
and  sixth  Sections? 

23.  How  does  the  truth  of  this  proposition  result  from  what 
has  been  taught  above  as  to  the  nature  and  relations  of  the  visible 
Church? 

24.  How  can  it  be  shown  that  the  purity  of  the  visible  Church 
varies  in  different  ages  and  sections  ? 

25.  State  some  historical  instances  of  ecclesiastical  deterior- 
ation. 

26.  On  what  ground  does  the  Church  of  Rome  maintain  that 
she  is  incapable  of  doctrinal  or  moral  deterioration  ? 

27.  How  can  you  show  that  these  promises  of  Scripture  are 
not  addressed  to  any  visible  organization  or  succession,  but  to  the 
great  company  of  God's  elect  of  all  ages  and  nations? 

28.  How  may  the  perpetual  continuance  of  the  visible  Church 
in  some  form  on  the  earth  be  argued  ? 

29.  Who  acknowledge  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  supreme  Head  of 
the  Church? 

30.  What  does  the  Romish  Church  teach  as  to  the  headship 
of  the  pope? 

31.  What  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England  as  to  the 
headship  of  the  sovereign  ? 

32.  Upon  what  grounds  are  all  such  claims  to  be  decided? 

33.  What  is  the  nature  of  such  claims  if  they  fail  to  be 
proved  ? 

34.  Upon  which  party — the  claimants,  or  those  denying  their 
claims — does  the  burden  of  proof  lie? 

35.  In  the  absence  of  a  visible  head,  how  does  Christ  act  as  the 
true  Head  of  the  whole  Church  ? 

36.  In  what  passages  of  Scripture  is  the  doctrine  of  Anti- 
christ taught? 

37.  What  \a  meant  by  the  declaration  that  the  pope  is  Anti- 
christ? 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

OF     COMMUNION     OF     SAINTS. 

Section  I. — All  saints  that  are  united  to  Jesus  Christ,  their 
Lsad,  by  his  Spirit,  and  by  faith,  have  fellowship  with  him  in  his 
graces,  sufferings,  death,  resurrection,  and  glory.1  And  being 
united  to  one  another  in  love,  they  have  communion  in  each 
other's  gifts  and  graces;2  and  are  obliged  to  the  performance  of 
such  duties,  public  and  private,  as  do  conduce  to  their  mutual 
good,  both  in  the  inward  and  outward  man.3 

Section  II. — Saints,  by  profession,  are  bound  to  maintain  an 
holy  fellowship  and  communion  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  in 
performing  such  other  spiritual  services  as  tend  to  their  mutual 
edification  ;4  as  also  in  relieving  each  other  in  outward  things, 
according  to  their  several  abilities  and  necessities.  Which  com- 
munion, as  God  offereth  opportunity,  is  to  be  extended  unto  all 
those  who  in  every  place  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.6 

Section  III. — This  communion  which  the  saints  have  with 
Christ,  doth  not  make  them  in  any  wise  partakers  of  the  sub- 
stance of  his  Godhead,  or  to  be  equal  with  Christ  in  any  respect : 
either  of  which  to  affirm  is  impious  and  blasphemous.6  Nor  doth 
their  communion  one  with  another,  as  saints,  take  away  or  in- 
fringe the  title  or  property  which  each  man  hath  in  his  goods  and 
possessions.7 

U  John  i.  3;  Eph.  iii.  16-19  ;  John  i.  16;  Eph.  ii.  5,  6;  Phil.  iii.  10; 
Rom.  vi.  5,  6;  2  Tim.  ii.  12.— 2 Eph.  iv.  15,  16;  1  Cor.  xii.  7;  iii.  21-23; 
Col.  ii.  19.— 3 1  Thess.  v.  11, 14 ;  Rom.  i.  11, 12, 14 ;  1  John  iii.  16-18  ;  Gal.  v! . 
10.— *  Heb.  x.  24,  25;  Acts  ii.  42,  46;  Isa.  ii.  3 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  20.— 5 Acts  ii.  44, 
45;  1  John  iii.  17;  2  Cor.  viii.,  ix.;  Acts  xi.  29,  30.— «  Col.  i.  18,  19;  1  Cor. 
Tiii.  6;  Isa.  xlii.  8;  1  Tim.  vi.  15,  16 ;  Ps.  xlv.7;  Heb.  i.  8,  9.— »  Ex.  xx. 
15;  Eph.  iv  *8;  Acts  v.  4 
436 


COMMUNION   OF   SAINTS.  437 

Communion  is  a  mutual  interchange  of  offices  between 
parties  which  flows  from  a  common  principle  in  which 
they  are  united.  The  nature  and  degree  of  the  com- 
munion will  depend  upon  the  nature  and  intimacy  of 
the  union  from  which  it  proceeds. 

This  Chapter  teaches — 

1st.  Of  the  union  of  Christ  and  his  people. 

2d.  The  fellowship  between  him  and  them  resulting 
therefrom. 

3d.  The  union  between  the  true  people  of  Christ 
growing  out  of  their  union  with  him. 

4th.  The  communion  of  saints  growing  out  of  their 
union  with  each  other. 

5th.  The  mutual  duties  of  all  who  profess  to  be  saints 
with  regard  to  all  their  fellow-professors. 

1st.  All  saints  are  united  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  We 
need  to  know  what  is  the  foundation  and  what  is  the 
nature  of  this  union,  and  hoiv  it  is  established. 

(1.)  As  to  the  foundation  of  the  union  subsisting  be- 
tween the  true  believer  and  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  Scrip- 
tures teach  that  it  rests  in  the  eternal  purpose  of  the 
triune  God,  expressed  in  the  decree  of  election  ("  We  were 
chosen  in  him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  Eph. 
i.  4),  and  the  eternal  covenant  of  grace  formed  between 
the  Father  and  his  word  as  the  mediatorial  Head  of  his 
people,  treating  with  the  Head  for  the  members,  and  with 
the  members  in  the  Head,  and  providing  for  their  salva- 
tion in  him.  John  xvii.  2,  6. 

(2.)  As  to  the  nature  of  this  union  of  the  believer  with 
Christ,  the  Scriptures  teach — (a.)  That  it  is  federal  and 
representative,  whereby  Christ  acts  in  all  tilings  as  our 
federal  Head,  hi  our  stead  and  for  our  benefit.      Hence, 


438  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

our  legal  status  is  determined  by  his,  and  his  rights, 
honours,  relations,  all  are  made  ours  in  copartnership 
with  him.  (6.)  That  it  is  a  vital  and  spiritual  union. 
Its  actuating  source  and  bond  is  the  Spirit  of  the  Head, 
who  dwells  and  works  in  the  members.  1  Cor.  vi.  17  ; 
xii.  13;  1  John  iii.  24;  iv.  13.  Hence  our  spiritual 
life  is  derived  from  him  and  sustained  and  determined 
by  his  life,  which  we  share.  Gal.  ii.  20.  (c.)  It  is  a 
union  between  our  entire  persons  and  Christ,  and  there- 
fore one  involving  our  bodies  through  our  souls.  1  Cor. 
vi.  15,  19. 

(3.)  As  to  the  manner  in  which  this  union  is  estab- 
lished, the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  elect,  having  been 
in  the  divine  idea  comprehended  under  the  headship  of 
Christ  from  eternity,  are  in  time  actually  united  to  him 
(a)  by  the  powerful  operation  of  his  Spirit,  whereby 
they  "are  quickened  together  with  Christ,"  which  Spirit 
evermore  dwells  in  them  as  the  organ  of  Christ's  pres- 
ence with  them,  the  infinite  medium  through  which  the 
fulness  of  his  love  and  life,  and  all  the  benefits  purchased 
by  his  blood,  pass  over  freely  from  the  Head  to  the 
members.  (6.)  By  the  actings  of  faith  upon  their  part, 
whereby  they  grasp  Christ  and  appropriate  him  and  his 
grace  to  themselves,  and  whereby  they  ever  continue  to 
live  in  him  and  to  draw  their  resources  from  him.  Eph. 
iii.  17. 

This  union  is  illustrated  in  Scripture  by  the  relation 
subsisting  between  a  foundation  and  its  superstructure 
(1  Pet.  ii.  4-6);  a  tree  and  its  branches  (John  xv.  5);  the 
members  of  the  body  and  the  head  (Eph.  iv.  15,  16)  ; 
a  husband  and  wife  (Eph.  v.  31,  32);  Adam  and  his 
descendants.  Rom.  v.  12-19. 


COMMUNION   OF   SAINTS.  439 

This  union  has  been  called  by  theologians  a  "mysti- 
cal" union,  because  it  never  could  have  been  known 
unless  revealed  by  the  Lord  himself,  and  because  it  is 
so  incomparably  intimate  and  excellent  that  it  transcends 
all  other  unions  of  which  we  have  experience.  Never- 
theless, it  is  not  mysterious  in  the  sense  of  involving 
any  confusion  between  Christ's  personality  and  ours, 
nor  does  it  make  us  in  any  wise  partakers  of  his  God- 
head or  to  be  equal  with  him  in  any  respect.  It  is  a 
union  between  persons,  in  which  each  retains  his  separate 
identity,  and  in  which  the  believer,  although  immeasur- 
ably exalted  and  blessed,  nevertheless  is  entirely  sub- 
ordinated to  and  continued  dependent  upon  his  Lord. 

2d.  On  the  basis  of  this  union  a  most  intimate  fel- 
lowship or  interchange  of  mutual  offices  ever  continues 
to  be  sustained  between  believers  and  Christ. 

(1.)  They  have  fellowship  with  Christ  (a)  in  all  the 
covenant  merits  of  his  active  and  passive  obedience. 
Forensically  they  are  "complete  in  him."  His  Father, 
his  inheritance,  his  throne,  his  crown,  are  theirs,  a. 
their  mediatorial  Head  he  acts  as  prophet,  priest  and 
king.  In  union  with  him  they  are  also  prophets,  priests 
and  kings.  1  John  ii.  27;  1  Pet.  ii.  5;  Rev.  iii.  21  ;  v. 
10.  (6.)  They  have  fellowship  with  Christ  also  in  the 
transforming,  assimilating  power  of  his  life.  "Of  his 
fulness  have  we  all  received,  and  grace  for  grace." 
Thus  they  have  the  "spirit"  and  "the  mind"  of  Christ, 
and  bear  his  "likeness"  or  "image."  Horn.  viii.  9;  Phil, 
ii.  5 ;  1  John  iii.  2.  This  includes  the  bodies  also, 
making  them  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  the 
resurrection  our  glorified  bodies  are  to  be  like  his.  1 
Cor.  xv.  43,  49.     (^.)  They  have  fellowship  with  Christ 


440  CONFESSION   01    FAITH. 

in  all  their  experiences,  inward  and  outward,  in  their 
joys  and  victories,  in  their  labours,  sufferings,  tempta- 
tions and  death.  Eom.  viii.  37;  2  Cor.  xii.  9;  Gal.  vi. 
17;  Phil.  iii.  10;  Heb.  xii.  3;  1  Pet,  iv.  13. 

(2.)  Christ  has  fellowship  with  them.  They  belong 
to  him  as  the  purchase  of  his  blood.  They  are  devoted 
to  his  service.  They  are  co-workers  together  with  him 
in  building  up  his  kingdom.  They  bear  fruit  to  his 
praise  and  shine  as  stars  in  his  throne.  Their  hearts, 
their  lives,  their  possessions,  are  all  consecrated  to  him, 
and  are  held  by  them  in  trust  for  him.  Prov.  xix.  17; 
Eom.  xiv.  8 ;  1  Cor.  vi.  19,  20. 

3d.  Since  all  true  believers  are  thus  intimately  united 
to  Christ  as  the  common  Head  of  the  whole  body,  and 
the  Source  of  a  common  life,  it  follows  that  they  must 
be  intimately  united  together.  If  they  have  but  one 
Head  and  are  all  members  of  one  body,  they  must  have 
one  common  life,  and  be  all  members  one  of  another. 

The  Romish  and  Ritualistic  view  is  that  individuals 
are  united  to  the  Church  through  the  sacraments  and 
through  the  Church  to  Christ.  The  true  view  is  that 
the  individual  is  united  to  Christ  he  Head  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  by  faith,  and  by  being  united  to  Christ  he  is, 
ipso  facto,  united  to  all  Christ's  members,  the  Church. 
The  holy  catholic  Church  is  the  product  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Wherever  the  Spirit  is,  there  the  Church  is. 
The  presence  of  the  Spirit  is  known  by  his  fruits,  which 
are  "  love,  joy,  peace/'  etc.  Gal.  v.  22,  23.  All  be- 
lievers receiving  the  same  Spirit  are  by  him  baptized 
into  "  one  body,"  and  thus  they  all  become,  "  though 
many  members,"  but  "  one  body,"  "  the  body  of  Christ" 
and  "members  in  particular."  1  Cor.  xii.  13-27. 


COMMUNION    OF   SAINTS.  4-41 

4th.  Hence  true  believers,  all  being  united  in  one  liv- 
ing body,  sustain  many  intimate  relations,  and  discharge 
many  important  offices  for  one  another,  which  are  sum- 
marily expressed  by  the  general  phrase  "the  communion 
of  the  saints." 

(1.)  They  have  a  common  Head,  and  common  duties 
with  respect  to  him,  a  common  profession,  a  common 
system  of  faith  to  maintain,  a  common  gospel  to  preach, 
a  common  worship  and  service  to  maintain. 

(2.)  They  have  a  common  life,  and  one  Holy  Ghost 
dwelling  in  and  binding  together  in  one  the  whole  body. 
Hence  they  are  involved  in  the  ties  of  sympathy  and 
identity  of  interest.  One  cannot  prosper  without  all 
prospering  with  him — one  cannot  suffer  without  all  suf- 
fering with  him. 

(3.)  As  they  constitute  one  body  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  they  have  a  common  reputation,  and  are  all 
severally  and  collectively  honoured  or  dishonoured  with 
each  other.  Hence  all  schisms  in  the  body,  injurious 
controversies,  malignant  misrepresentations  of  Christian 
by  Christian,  are  self-defaming  as  well  as  wicked. 

(4.)  The  body  of  saints  is  like  the  natural  body  in 
this  also,  that,  although  one  body,  each  several  member 
is  an  organ  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  a  special  function, 
and  has  his  own  individual  difference  of  qualification, 
and  consequently  of  duty.  Hence,  in  the  economy  of 
the  body,  each  member  is  to  contribute  his  special  func- 
tion and  his  special  grace  or  beauty,  and  has  in  his  turn 
fellowship  in  the  gifts  and  complementary  graces  of  all 
the  rest.  Eph.  iv.  11-16;  1  Cor.  xii.  4-21.  This  shall 
be  perfectly  realized  in  heaven.  John  x.  16  ;  xvii.  22. 

5th.  Since  this  is  the  union  of  all  true  believers  with 


442  CONFESSION   OF    FAI1H. 

the  Lord  and  with  each  other,  and  since,  consequently. 
a  "communion  of  saints"  so  intimate  necessarily  flour- 
ishes among  true  believers  in  proportion  to  their  intelli- 
gence and  their  advancement  in  grace,  it  follows  that 
all  branches  of  the  visible  Church,  and  all  the  individ- 
ual members  thereof,  should  do  all  within  their  power 
to  act  upon  the  principles  of  the  " communion  of  saints" 
in  their  intercourse  with  all  who  profess  the  true  re- 
ligion. If  the  Church  is  one,  the  churches  are  one. 
If  all  saints  are  one,  and  are  embraced  in  this  holy 
"communion,''  then  all  who  profess  to  be  saints  should 
regard  and  treat  all  their  fellow-professors  on  the  pre- 
sumption that  they  are  saints  and  "  heirs  together  with 
them  of  the  grace  of  life.'^  Think  of  it !  In  spite  of 
all  controversies  and  jealousies,  one  in  the  eternal  elect- 
ing love  of  God  ! — one  in  the  purchase  of  Christ's  sacri- 
ficial blood  ! — one  in  the  beautifying  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Ghost! — one  in  the  eternal  inheritance  of  glory  ! 
Surely,  we  should  be  also  one  in  all  the  charities,  sym- 
pathies and  helpful  offices  possible  in  these  short  and 
evil  days  of  earthly  pilgrimage.  These  mutual  duties 
are,  of  course,  some  of  them  public — as  between  differ- 
ent evangelical  churches — and  many  of  them  private 
and  personal.  Many  of  them  relate  to  the  souls,  and 
many  also  to  the  bodies  of  the  saints.  The  rule  is  the 
law  of  love  in  the  heart,  and  the  principles  and  exam- 
ples of  saints  recorded  in  Scripture  applied  to  the  spe- 
cial circumstances  of  every  individual  case.  But  while 
these  mutual  relations  and  offices  of  the  saints  sanctify, 
they  are  not  designed  to  supersede  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  human  society,  as  the  rights  of  property  and 
the  family  tie. 


COMMUNION   OF   SAINTS.  443 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  communion,  and  what  does  it  presuppose? 

2.  What  is  the  first  subject  taught  in  these  SectioDsr 

3.  What  is  the  second  subject  here  taught? 

4.  What  is  the  third  ? 

5.  What  is  the  fourth? 

6.  What  is  the  fifth? 

7.  What  is  the  foundation  of  the  union  of  the  believer  and 
Christ? 

8.  What  three  points  are  here  taught  as  to  the  nature  of  that 
union? 

9.  What  do  you  mean  by  saying  that  it  is  federal  ? 

10.  What  by  saying  that  it  is  vital  and  spiritual? 

11.  What  by  saying  that  it  involves  the  entire  person? 

12.  How  is  this  union  accomplished? 

13.  What  is  the  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  respect  to  it  ? 

14.  What  is  the  office  of  faith  in  respect  to  it? 

15.  By  what  similitudes  is  this  union  illustrated? 

16.  Why  has  this  union  been  called  "  mystical?" 

17.  In  what  sense  is  it  not  mysterious,  and  what  is  not  involved 
in  it? 

18.  What  is  the  great  practical  consequence  of  our  union  with 
Christ? 

19.  In  what  respects  does  the  believer  have  fellowship  with 
Christ? 

20.  In  what  respects  does  Christ  have  fellowship  with  the  be- 
liever? 

21.  What  follows  if  all  believers  are  united  to  the  one  Christ? 

22.  What  is  the  Romish  and  Ritualistic  and  what  the  true 
view  as  to  the  way  in  which  the  individual  members  are  united 
to  Christ  and  to  the  world  ? 

23.  How  can  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  determined  ? 

24.  What  is  the  great  practical  consequent  which  flows  from 
the  union  of  all  saints  in  "  one  body?" 

25.  State  the  principal  particulars  which  are  involved  in  the 
u  communion  of  saints." 


444 


CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 


_  26.  What  practical  duties  hence  belong  to  every  branch  of  ihu 
visible  Church  with  reference  to  every  other  branch  ? 

27.  What  practical  duties  hence  belong  to  every  professor  of 
the  true  religion  with  reference  to  all  his  fellow-professors? 

28.  What  is  the  rule  for  our  guidance  in  such  matters? 

29.  To  what  consequences  doas  this  doctrine  not  lead  ? 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

OF   THE   SACRAMENTS. 

Section  I. — Sacraments  are  holy  signs  and  seals  of  the  cove- 
nant of  grace,1  immediately  instituted  by  God,2  to  represent 
Christ  and  his  benefits,  and  to  confirm  our  interest  in  him  ;3  as 
also  to  put  a  visible  difference  between  those  that  belong  unto  the 
Church  and  the  rest  of  the  world,*  and  solemnly  to  engage  them 
to  the  service  of  God  in  Christ,  according  to  his  word.5 

Section  II. — There  is  in  every  sacrament  a  spiritual  relation 
or  sacramental  union,  between  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  ; 
whence  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  names  and  effects  of  the  one  are 
attributed  to  the  other.* 

Larger  Catechism,  Q.  163. — What  are  the  parts  of  a  sacra- 
ment?— The  parts  of  a  sacrament  are  two:  the  one,  an  outward 
and  sensible  sign  used  according  to  Christ's  own  appointment; 
the  other,  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace  thereby  signified.7 

1  Rom.  iv.  11;  Gen.  xvii.  7,  10.— 2  Matt,  xxviii.  19;  1  Cor.  xi.  23.— 
3  1  Cor.  x.  16 ;  xi.  25,  26 ;  Gal.  iii.  27.— 4  Rom.  xv.  8 ;  Ex.  xii.  48 ;  Gen. 
xxxiv.  14.— 5  Rom.  vi.  3,  4;  1  Cor.  x.  16,  21.— «  Gen.  xvii.  10 ;  Matt.  xxvi. 
27.  28;  Tit.  iii.  5.—'  Matt.  iii.  11 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  21. 

The  word  sacrament  does  not  occur  in  the  Scriptures. 
In  its  classical  usage  it  designated  anything  which  binds 
or  brings  under  obligations,  as  a  sum  of  money  given 
in  pledge,  or  an  oath,  and  especially  the  oath  of  mili- 
tary allegiance. 

In  its  ecclesiastical  usage,  the  word  while  retaining  its 
general  sense  of  something  binding  as  sacred,  was  at 
an  early  period   used  as  the   Latin   equivalent  of  the 

445 


446  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

Greek  word  mysterion  (jivavyptou),  that  which  is  unknown 
until  revealed,  and  hence  any  symbol,  type  or  rite  having 
a  latent  spiritual  ^meaning.  Hence  the  word  naturally 
came  to  be  applied  in  a  general  and  vague  sense  to  the 
Christian  ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  with  them  also  to  many  other  religious  doctrines 
and  ordinances. 

It  is  plainly,  therefore,  impossible  to  determine  the 
nature  or  the  number  of  the  sacraments  from  either  the 
etymology  or  the  usage  of  the  word  sacrament.  We 
want  a  thorough  definition  of  the  thing,  not  of  the  name. 
This  we  can  get  only  by  taking  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper,  which  all  men  acknowledge  to  be  genuine  sac- 
raments, and,  by  a  strict  examination  of  their  origin, 
nature  and  uses,  determine  (a)  the  true  character  of  the 
class  of  ordinances  to  which  they  belong,  and  (b) 
whether  any  other  ordinances  belong  to  the  same  class 
or  not.  In  this  way  the  definition  of  a  sacrament  given 
in  our  Standards  was  formed.  This  definition  involves 
the  following  points  : 

1st.  A  sacrament  is  an  ordinance  immediately  insti- 
tuted by  Christ.  L.  Cat.,  Q.  162,  and  S.  Cat.,  Q.  92. 

2d.  A  sacrament  always  consists  of  two  elements — (a) 
an  outward  sensible  sign,  and  (6)  an  inward  spiritual 
grace  thereby  signified. 

3d.  The  sign  in  every  sacrament  is  sacramental ly 
united  to  the  grace  which  it  signifies;  and  out  of  this 
union  the  scriptural  usage  has  arisen  of  ascribing  to  the 
sign  whatever  is  true  of  that  which  the  sign  signifies. 

4th.  The  sacraments  were  designed  to  "  represent,  seal 
and  apply  the  benefits  of  Christ  and  the  new  covenant 
to  believers."  S.  Cat.,  Q.  92. 


THE   SACRAMENTS.  447 

5th.  They  were  designed  to  be  pledges  of  our  fidelity 
to  Christ,  binding  us  to  his  service,  and  at  the  same 
time  badges  of  our  profession,  visibly  marking  the  body 
of  professors  and  distinguishing  them  from  the  world. 

1st.  The  first  Section  of  this  Chapter  says  that  a  sac- 
rament is  an  ordinance  "  immediately  instituted  by  God 
to  represent  Christ,"  etc.  This  is  true  if  the  word  sac- 
rament is  used  in  its  general  sense  to  include  also  the 
Old  Testament  sacraments  of  circumcision  and  the  pass- 
over.  But  it  is  an  important  distinction  of  the  New 
Testament  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per that  they  were  both  immediately  instituted  by 
Christ  himself.  Therefore,  both  the  Larger  (Q.  162) 
and  Shorter  (Q.  92)  Catechisms  have  it,  "  A  sacrament 
is  an  holy  ordinance  instituted  by  Christ  in  his  Church." 
This  should  be  remembered,  because  it  serves  to  exclude 
most  of  the  pretended  sacraments  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
from  any  right  to  a- place  in  this  class  of  Christian  or- 
dinances. 

2d.  Every  sacrament  consists  of  two  elements— (a) 
an  outward  sensible  sign,  and  (6)  an  inward  spiritual  grace 
thereby  signified.  In  bnptism  the  outward  sensible 
sign  is  (a)  water,  and  (b)  the  water  applied  in  the  name 
of  the  Triune  God  to  the  person  of  the  subject  baptized. 
The  inward  spiritual  grace  thereby  signified  is  (a)  pri- 
marily spiritual  purification  by  the  immediate  personal 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  soul,  and  (6)  hence, 
secondarily,  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  hence 
the  union  of  the  baptized  with  Christ,  hence  regenera- 
tion, justification,  sanctification,  perseverance  to  the  end, 
glorification,  etc. — i.  e.,  all  the  benefits  of  the  new  cove- 
nant.   In  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  outward  sensible  signs 


148  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

are — (a)  bread  and  wine,  and  (b)  the  consecration  and  the 
bread  broken,  and  the  wine  poured  out,  distributed  to, 
and  received  and  eaten  and  drunk  by,  the  communicants. 
The  inward  spiritual  grace  thereby  signified  is  (a)  pri- 
ma] ily  Christ  crucified  (his  flesh  torn  and  blood  shed) 
for  us,  and  giving  himself  to  us  to  be  spiritually  re- 
ceived and  assimilated  as  the  principle  of  a  new  life, 
and  (6)  hence,  secondarily,  union  with  Christ,  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Spirit,  regeneration,  justification,  sancti- 
cation,  etc. — i.  e.,  all  the  benefits  secured  by  the  sacrificial 
death  of  Christ. 

3d.  "  There  is  in  every  sacrament  a  spiritual  relation 
or  sacramental  union  between  the  sign  and  the  thing 
signified."  This  sacramental  union  between  the  sign  and 
the  urace  which  it  signifies,  the  Romish  and  Lutheran 
churches  understand  to  be,  at  least  in  the  case  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  a  literal  identity.  Thus  when  Christ 
took  the  bread  and  said,  "  This  is  my  body,"  they  insist 
that  it  means  that  the  bread  is  his  body.  All  other 
Christians  understand  the  phrase  to  mean,  "  This  bread 
represents  sacramentally  my  body." 

This  sacramental  union,  therefore,  between  the  sign 
and  the  thing  signified  is  (a)  symbolical  and  representa- 
tive— the  one  symbolizes  and  so  represents  the  other ; 
and  (b)  instrumental  because  by  divine  appointment, 
through  the  right  use  of  the  sign,  the  grace  signified  i3 
really  conveyed. 

The  grounds  of  this  sacramental  union  are — (a.)  The 
natural  fitness  of  the  sign  to  symbolize  the  grace  signi- 
fied, as  washing  with  water  to  symbolize  spiritual  puri- 
fication by  the  Ploly  Ghost.  (6.)  The  authoritative 
appointment  of  Christ  that    these  signs    rightly   used 


THE    SACRAMENTS.  449 

ahall  truly  represent  and  convey  the  grace  they  signify 
(c.)  The  spiritual  faith  of  the  believing  recipient,  a  gift 
of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  whereby  in  the  proper  use  of  the 
sign,  lie  is  enabled  to  discern  "the  Lord's  body."  1  Cor. 
xi.  29. 

Out  of  this  spiritual  relation,  or  sacramental  union 
between  the  sign  and  the  grace  signified,  which  we  have 
thus  explained  by  a  natural  and  legitimate  use  of  lan- 
guage, the  one  is  put  for  the  other,  and  whatever  is  true 
of  the  grace  signified  is  asserted  of  the  sign  which  signi- 
fies it.  Thus,  to  eat  the  bread  and  drink  the  wine  in 
the  Lord's  Supper  is  to  eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the 
blood  of  Christ;  that  is,  to  participate  in  the  sacrificial 
virtue  of  his  death.  And  whatever  is  true  of  baptism 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  is  attributed  to  baptism  with 
water.  Ananias  said  to  Paul,  "Arise  and  be  baptized, 
and  wash  away  your  sins."  Acts  xxii.  16.  "Christ 
gave  himself  for  the  Church,  that  he  might  sanctify  and 
cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  Word." 
Eph.  v.  26.  "  Repent  and  be  baptized,  every  one  of 
you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of 
sins."  Acts  ii.  38.  Hence  Romanists  and  Ritualists 
have  inferred  that  the  sign  is  inseparable  from  the 
grace  signified,  and  that  these  spiritual  effects  are  due 
to  the  outward  ordinance.  Hence  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
tismal regeneration.  But  it  must  be  observed  that  tne 
Scriptures  do  not  assert  these  spiritual  attributes  oi 
water  baptism  in  itself  considered,  but  of  water  baptism 
as  the  sign  or  emblem  of  baptism  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
These  spiritual  attributes  belong  only  to  baptism  by  the 
Spirit,  and  they  accompany  the  sign  only  when  the  sign 
is  accompanied   by  that  which  it  signifies.      It   does   not 

29 


450  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

follow,  however,  that  the  sign  is  inseparable  from  the 
grace.  The  grace  is  sovereign  ;  and  experience  teaches 
us  that  it  is  often  absent  from  the  sign,  and  that  the  sign 
is  least  frequently  honoured  by  the  presence  of  the  grace 
when  it  is  itself  most  implicitly  relied  upon. 

4th,  The  sacraments  were  designed  (1)  to  represent  the 
benefits  of  Christ  and  the  new  covenant.  They  are  as 
signs  or  pictures  of  the  truths  they  represent,  and  hence 
present  those  truths  to  the  eyes  and  other  senses  of  the 
recipients  in  a  manner  analogous  to  that  in  which  they 
are  presented  to  the  ears  in  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 
This  follows  from  what  has  just  been  shown  as  to  their 
being  outward,  sensible  signs,  signifying  inward  and 
spiritual  graces.  (2.)  They  were  designed  to  be  "seals" 
of  the  benefits  of  the  new  covenant.  The  gospel  is  pre- 
sented under  the  form  of  a  covenant.  Salvation  and  all 
the  benefits  of  Christ's  redemption  are  offered  upon  the 
condition  of  faith.  In  the  sacrament  God  sensibly  and 
authoritatively  pledges  himself  to  invest  us  with  this 
grace  if  we  believe  and  obey.  In  receiving  the  sacra- 
ment we  actively  assume  all  the  obligations  implied  in 
the  gospel,  and  bind  ourselves  to  fulfil  them.  Circum- 
cision, Paul  says,  "  is  the  seal  of  the  righteousness  of 
faith,"  Rom.  iv.  11;  and  baptism  is  declared  to  be  the 
circumcision  of  Christ.  Col.  ii.  11,  12.  We  are  said  to 
be  actually  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism;  i.  e.,  united 
to  him  in  his  death.  Jesus  says,  "  This  cup  is  the  new 
covenant  in  ray  blood  ;"  that  is,  This  cup  represents  my 
blood,  by  which  the  new  covenant  was  ratified;  and 
therefore  it  is  a  visible  confirmation  of  the  covenant, 
since  it  is  a  visible  representative  of  the  blood.  If  a 
»nan  was  circumcised,  he  was  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole 


THE  SACRAMENTS.  451 

law.  Gal.  v.  3.     As  many  as  are  baptized  unto  Christ 
have  put  on  Christ.  Gal.  iii.  27. 

(3.)  The  sacraments  were  designed  to  "apply" — i.  e., 
actually  to  convey — to  believers  the  benefits  of  the  new 
covenant.  If  they  are  "  seals "  of  the  covenant,  they 
must  of  course,  as  a  legal  form  of  investiture,  actually 
convey  the  grace  represented  to  those  to  whom  it  belongs. 
Thus  a  deed  conveys  an  estate,  or  the  key  handed  over 
in  the  presence  of  witnesses  the  possession  of  a  house 
from  the  owner  to  the  renter.  Our  Confession  is  ex- 
plicit and  emphatic  on  this  subject.  The  old  English 
word  "exhibit,"  there  used,  does  not  mean  to  show  forth; 
but  in  the  sense  of  the  Latin  exhibere,  from  which  it  is 
derived,  to  administer,  to  apply.  Compare  the  follow- 
ing:  "A  sacrament  is  a  holy  ordinance  instituted  by 
Christ ;  wherein,  by  sensible  signs,  Christ  and  the  ben- 
efits of  the  new  covenant  are  represented,  sealed  and 
applied  to  believers."  L.  Cat.,  Q.  92.  "A  sacrament  is 
a  holy  ordinance  instituted  by  Christ  in  his  Church,  to 
signify,  seal  and  exhibit  unto  those  that  are  within  the 
covenant  of  grace  the  benefits  of  his  mediation."  L.  Cat., 
Q.  162.  "The  grace  which  is  exhibited  in  or  by  the 
sacraments,  rightly  used,  is  not  conferred  by  any  power 
in  them."  Conf.  Faith,  chap,  xxvii.,  §  3.  "  The  efficacy  of 
baptism  is  not  tied  to  the  moment  of  time  wherein  it  is 
administered;  yet  notwithstanding,  by  the  right  use  of 
this  ordinance,  the  grace  promised  is  not  only  offered, 
but  really  exhibited  and  conferred  by  the  Holy  Ghost," 
etc.  Conf.  Faith,  chap,  xxviii.,  §  6.  This  the  Confession 
carefully  guards  in  the  third  Section  of  this  Chapter, 
showing  that  the  sacraments  have  no  inherent  power  or 
virtue  at  all,  but  that  the  right  use  of  the  sacrament  is 


452  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

by  divine  appointment  the  occasion  upon  which  thfe 
Holy  Ghost  conveys  the  grace  to  those  to  whom  it  he- 
longs.  So  that  this  grace-conferring  virtue  depends 
upon  two  things:  (a.)  The  sovereign  will  and  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  (6.)  The  lively  faith  of  the  recipient. 
The  sacrament  is  a  mere  instrument ;  but  it  is  an  in- 
strument of  divine  appointment. 

5th.  The  sacraments  being  seals  of  the  covenant  of 
grace — at  once  pledges  of  God's  faithfulness  to  us  and 
of  our  obligation  to  him — they  of  course  (a)  mark  us  as 
the  divine  property,  and  bind  us  to  the  performance  of 
our  duty,  (b)  and  hence  are  badges  of  our  profession, and, 
putting  a  visible  difference  between  those  who  belong 
to  the  Church  and  the  rest  of  the  world,  give  visibility 
to  the  Church,  and  separate  its  members  from  the  world. 

Section  III. — The  grace  which  is  exhibited  in  or  by  the 
sacraments,  rightly  used,  is  not  conferred  by  any  power  in  them : 
neither  doth  the  efficacy  of  a  sacrament  depend  upon  the  piety 
or  intention  of  him  that  doth  administer  it,7  but  upon  the  work 
of  the  Spirit,8  and  the  word  of  institution ;  which  contains,  to- 
gether with  a  precept  authorizing  the  use  thereof,  a  promise  of 
benefit  to  worthy  receivers.9 

7  Rom.  ii.  28,  29;  1  Pet.  iii.  21.— 8  Matt.  iii.  11  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  13.— 9  Matt. 
xxvi.  27,  28;  xxviii.  19,  20. 

Having  asserted  that  the  sacraments  actually  confer 
the  grace  which  they  represent  to  worthy  recipients,  our 
Confession  in  this  Section  proceeds  to  guard  this  im- 
portant truth  from  abuse,  by  carefully  showing  upon 
what  this  grace-conveying  efficacy  of  the  sacraments 
does  not,  and  upon  what  it  does,  depend. 

1st.  This  grace  is  not  contained  in  the  sacraments 
themselves,  nor  "  is  it  conferred  by  any  power  in  them." 


THE   SACRAMENTS.  453 

According  to  the  Romish  and  Ritualistic  view,  the  grace 
signified  is  contained  in  the  sacrament  itself,  as  qualities 
inhere  in  substances,  and  it  is  together  with  the  outward 
sign  presented  as  a  real  objective  sense  to  every  recipient, 
whether  believer  or  unbeliever.  They  hold  also  that 
the  sacrament  confers  this  grace  upon  every  recipient 
who  does  not  positively  resist,  as  an  opus  operatum — by 
the  sole  force  of  the  sacramental  action,  as  hot  iron 
burns.* 

This  whole  view  is  explicitly  rejected  as  false  by  our 
Confession.  And  the  whole  efficacy  of  the  sacrament 
is  said  to  depend  not  upon  any  part  of  it  separately, 
nor  upon  the  whole  together,  but  upon  the  sovereign 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  always  present  and 
uses  the  sacrament  as  his  instrument  and  medium. 

2d.  The  efficacy  of  the  sacraments  does  not  depend 
upon  either  the  personal  piety  or  the  ''  intention"  of 
the  person  who  administers  them. 

The  Romanists  admit  that  the  efficacy  of  the  sacra- 
ments does  not  depend  upon  the  personal  piety  of  the 
administrator,  but  they  insist  that  it  depends  (a)  upon 
the  fact  that  the  administrator  is  canonically  authorized ; 
(b)  upon  the  fact  that  the  administrator  exercises  at 
the  moment  of  administration  the  secret  "  intention"  of 
doing  thereby  what  the  Church  intends  in  the  definition 
of  the  sacrament. f  The  priest  may  outwardly  pro- 
nounce every  word  and  perform  every  action  prescribed 
in  the  ritual,  and  the  recipient  may  fulfil  every  condi- 
tion required  of  him,  and  yet  if  the  priest  fails  in  tht 
secret  intention    of  conferring  the   grace  through    the 

*  Cone.  Trident.,  Sess.  vii.,  Cans.  6  and  8. 

f  Ibid.,  Sess.  vii.,  Can.  11.    Dens,  vol.  v.  p.  127. 


454  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

sacrament  then  and  there,  the  recipient  goes  away 
destitute  of  the  grace  he  supposes  himself  to  have  re- 
ceived, and  which  the  priest  has  ostensibly  professed  to 
confer. 

3d.  But  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments  depends — (a.) 
Upon  their  divine  appointment  as  means  and  channels 
of  grace.  They  were  not  devised  by  man  as  suitable  in 
themselves  to  produce  a  moral  impression.  But  they 
were  appointed  by  God,  and  we  are  commanded  to  use 
them  as  means  of  grace,  and  hence  God  virtually  pro- 
mises to  meet  every  soul  who  uses  them  rightly  in  the 
sacrament.  Christ  seals  his  gracious  covenant  by  them, 
and  hence  in  their  use  invests  with  the  grace  of  that 
covenant  every  soul  to  which  it  belongs,  (b.)  The  effi- 
cacy of  the  sacrament  resides  in  the  sovereign  and  ever- 
present  personal  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  uses  the 
sacraments  as  his  instruments  and  media  of  operation. 
The  Spirit  is  the  executive  of  God.  He  takes  of  the 
things  of  Christ  and  shows  them  unto  us.  Through 
him  even  the  humanity  of  Jesus  is  virtually  omni- 
present, and  all  the  benefits  secured  by  his  sacrifice  are 
revealed  and  applied. 

Section  IV. — There  be  only  two  sacraments  ordained  by 
Christ  our  Lord  in  the  gospel ;  that  is  to  say,  baptism  and  the 
supper  of  the  Lord ;  neither  of  which  may  be  dispensed  by  any 
but  a  minister  of  the  Word,  lawfully  ordained.10 

10  Matt,  xxviii.  19 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  20,  23 ;  iv.  1 ;  Heb.  v.  4. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  word  sacrament  was  used  very 
indefinitely  in  the  early  Church  to  include  any  religious 
rite  which  had  a  latent  spiritual  meaning.  A  pre- 
eminence was  always  awarded  to  Baptism  and  the  Lord's 


THE  SACKAMENTS.  455 

Supper  as  forming  a  class  by  themselves,  but  the  num- 
ber of  ordinances  to  which  the  term  sacrament  was 
applied  varied  at  different  times  and  in  different  places 
from  two  to  twelve.  At  last  the  number  seven  was 
suggested  during  the  twelfth  century,  and  determined 
authoritatively  by  the  Council  of  Florence,  1439,  and 
by  the  Council  of  Trent,  1562.  These  are  baptism, 
confirmation,  the  Lord's  Supper,  penance,  extreme  unc- 
tion, orders,  marriage.  In  order  to  prove  that  "  there 
be  only  two  sacraments  ordained  by  Christ  our  Lord  in 
the  gospel — that  is  to  say,  baptism  and  the  supper  of 
the  Lord" — we  have  only  to  show  that  the  other  five  so- 
called  sacraments  claimed  by  the  Romanists  do  not 
belong  to  the  same  class  of  ordinances  with  Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper.  And  we  do  this  by  applying 
the  definition  of  a  sacrament  above  given.     Thus — - 

Penance,  confirmation  and  eytreme  unction  are  not 
divine  institutions  in  any  sense. 

Marriage  was  instituted  not  by  Christ,  but  by  God, 
and  orders  were  instituted  by  Christ,  but  neither  of 
these  ordinances  (a)  consists  of  an  outward  visible  sign 
signifying  an  inward  spiritual  grace,  nor  (6)  does  either 
of  them  "  represent,  seal  or  confer  Christ  and  the  ben- 
efits of  the  new  covenant." 

Our  Confession  also  adds  that  no  one  has  a  right  to 
administer  the  sacraments  save  a  lawfully-ordained 
minister.  This  is  not  said  in  the  interest  of  any 
priestly  theory  of  the  ministry,  as  if  there  were  any 
grace  or  grace-conferring  virtue  transmitted  by  ordina- 
tion in  succession  from  the  apostles  to  the  person  or- 
dained. But  since  the  Church  is  an  organized  society 
under  laws  executed  by  regularly-appointed  officers,  it 


456  CONFilSSlO-N    Ob'    FAlTll. 

is  evident  that  ordinances,  which  are  badges  of  churcl 
membership,  the  gates  of  the  fold,  the  instruments  of 
discipline  and  seals  of  the  covenant  formed  by  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  with  his  living  members,  can  prop- 
erly be  administered  only  by  the  highest  legal  officers 
of  the  Church,  those  who  are  commissioned  as  ambassa- 
dors for  Christ  to  treat  in  his  name  with  men.  1  Cor.  iv. 
1 ;  2  Cor.  v.  20. 

Section  V. — The  sacraments  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  regard 
of  the  spiritual  things  thereby  signified  and  exhibited,  were,  for 
substance,  the  same  with  those  of  the  New.11 

"  1  Cor.  x.  1-4. 

We  saw,  under  Chapter  vii.,  §§  5  and  6,  that  the  old 
and  new  dispensations  were  only  two  different  modes  in 
which  the  one  changeless  covenant  of  grace  was  admin- 
istered and  its  blessings  dispensed.  The  sacramental 
seals  of  the  covenant  must,  therefore,  be  essentially  the 
same  then  and  now,  The  difference  is — («)  that  they 
were  more  prospective  and  typical  then,  and  that  they 
are  more  commemorative  now.  They  signified  a  grace 
to  be  revealed  then ;  they,  signify  a  grace  already  re- 
vealed now.  (b.)  They  were,  as  to  form,  more  gross 
and  carnal  then,  and  more  spiritual  now. 

Thus  baptism  has  taken  the  place  of  circumcision  as 
the  rite  of  initiation.  They  both  signify  spiritual  re- 
generation. Deut.  x.  16 ;  xxx.  6.  Circumcision  was 
Jewish  baptism,  and  baptism  is  Christian  circumcision. 
GaLiii.  27,  29;  Col.  ii.  10-12. 

Thus  the  Lord's  Supper  grew  out  of  the  Passover. 
He  took  the  old  bread  and  the  old  cup  and  gave  them 
a  new  consecration   and   a   new  meaning.    Matt.  xxvi. 


THE   SACRAMENTS.  457 

26-29.     "  Christ  our  passover  is  sacrificed  for  113."   1 
Cor.  v.  7. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  was  the  classical  usage  of  the  word  sacrament? 

2.  What  was  the  early  ecclesiastical  usage  of  the  word  ? 

3.  On  what  principles,  therefore,  are  we  to  form  our  definition 
of  a  sacrament? 

4.  What  is  the  first  point  involved  in  the  definition  of  a  sacra- 
ment given  in  our  Standards? 

5.  What  is  the  second  point  involved  therein  ? 

6.  What  is  the  third  point  involved  ? 

7.  What  is  the  fourth  point  involved? 

8.  What  is  the  fifth  point  involved? 

9.  What  does  our  Confession  teach  as  to  the  person  by  whom 
our  New  Testament  sacraments  were  immediately  ordained  ? 

10.  Of  what  two  parts  does  every  sacrament  consist  ? 

11.  In  the  case  of  baptism,  what  is  the  outward  visible  sign? 

12.  In  the  case  of  baptism,  what  is  the  inward  spiritual  grace 
signified  ? 

13.  In  the  case  of  the  Lord's  Supper  what  is  the  sensible  sign? 

14.  In  that  case  what  is  the  inward  spiritual  grace  signified? 

15.  Whatdo  the  Romish  and  Lutheran  churches  regard  as  the 
nature  of  the  "  sacramental  union"  subsisting  between  the  sign 
and  the  grace  signified? 

16.  What,  according  to  the  true  doctrine,  is  involved  in  the 
sacramental  union  or  relation  between  the  sign  and  the  grace  sig- 
nified? 

17.  What  are  the  true  grounds  upon  which  that  relation  rests? 

18.  What  manner  of  speaking  of  the  sign  or  visible  part  of  the 
sacraments  has  grown  out  of  this  relation  which  the  sign  sustains 
to  the  grace  signified  ? 

19.  Quote  instances  of  this  manner  of  speaking  in  the  Scrip- 
tures in  the  case  of  each  of  the  sacraments. 

20.  What  false  inferences  do  Romanists  and  Ritualists  deduce 
from  this  manner  of  speaking? 


458  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

21.  What,  on  the  contrary,  is  the  true  explanation  of  the 
usage  ? 

22.  What  is  the  design  of  the  sacraments  ? 

23.  How  do  they  "  represent"  the  benefits  of  Christ  and  the 
new  covenant  ? 

24.  What  is  meant  by  saying  they  are  "  seals"  of  the  covenant 
of  grace  ? 

25.  Prove  that  they  are  so. 

26.  In  what  sense  do  our  Standards  use  the  word  "exhibit" 
in  this  connection  ? 

27.  Prove  that  our  Standards  teach  that  the  sacraments  do 
really  convey  the  grace  they  signify. 

28.  In  what  sense  do  they  affirm  this,  and  upon  what  do  they 
teach  this  grace-conveying  efficacy  depends  ? 

29.  How  do  the  sacraments  become  badges  of  our  pro- 
fession? 

30.  What  is  the  object  of  the  third  Section  of  this  Chapter  ? 

31.  What  is  the  Romish  doctrine  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  sacraments  "contain"  and  "confer"  grace? 

32.  What  does  this  Section  teach  in  opposition  to  this  ? 

33.  What  do  the  Romanists  teach  are  the  conditions  on  the 
part  of  the  administrator  upon  which  the  efficacy  of  the  sacra- 
ments depends  ? 

34.  How  dees  the  efficacy  of  the  sacrament  depend  upon  its 
divine  appointment  ? 

35.  How  does  it  depend  upon  the  sovereign  will  and  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost? 

36.  What  was  taught  in  the  early  Church  as  to  the  number  of 
the  sacraments? 

37.  When  was  the  number  seven  authoritatively  established? 

38.  What  are  the  seven  sacraments  acknowledged  by  the  Ro- 
manists? 

39.  How  can  it  be  proved  that  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
form  a  class  by  themselves  ? 

40.  Show  that  the  definition  of  a  sacrament  will  not  apply  to 
the  rest. 

41.  Why  can  the  sacraments  be  administered  only  by  a  lawfully- 
ordained  minister  ? 


THE  SACRAMENTS.  459 

42.  What  were  the  sacramental  seals  of  the  covenant  of  grace 
under  the  old  dispensation  ? 

43.  Which  corresponds  to  baptism  and  which  to  the  Lord's 
Supper  ? 

44.  In  what  respects  do  they  differ?     And  show  that  they  aro 

virtually  the  san  a 


CHAPTER    XXVIli. 

OF    BAPTISM. 

Section  I. — Baptism  is  a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testament, 
ordained  by  Jesus  Christ,1  not  only  for  the  solemn  admission  of 
the  party  baptized  into  the  visible  Church,2  but  also  to  be  unto 
him  a  sign  and  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,3  of  his  ingrafting 
into  Christ,4  of  regeneration,6  of  remission  of  sins,6  and  of  his 
giving  up  unto  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  walk  in  newness 
of  life:7  which  sacrament  is  by  Christ's  own  appointment  to  be 
continued  in  his  Church  until  the  end  of  the  world.8 

Section  II. — The  outward  element  to  be  used  in  this  sacra- 
ment is  water,  wherewith  the  party  is  to  be  baptized  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  a  min- 
ister of  the  gospel,  lawfully  called  thereunto.9 

Section  III. — Dipping  of  the  person  into  the  water  is  not 
necessary ;  but  baptism  is  rightly  administered  by  pouring  or 
sprinkling  water  upon  the  person.10 

Smaller  Catechism,  Q.  94. — Baptism  is  a  sacrament,  wherein 
the  washing  with  water,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  doth  signify  and  seal  our  ingrafting 
into  Christ,  and  partaking  of  the  benefits  of  the  covenant  of 
grace,  and  our  engagement  to  be  the  Lord's.  L.  Cat,  Q.  165. 

1  Matt,  xxviii.  19  ;  Mark  xvi.  16.— 2  1  Cor.  xii.  13 ;  Gal.  Hi.  27,  28.-3  Rom. 
iv.  11 ;  Col.  ii.  11,  12.— 4  Gal.  iii.  27;  Roni.  vi.  5.-6  Tit.  iii.  5.— 6  Acts  ii. 
38  5  xxii.  16;  Mark  i.  4.— »  Rom.  vi.  3,  4.— 8  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20.— 9  Acts 
viii.  36,  38;  x.  47;  Matt,  xxiii.  19.— 10  Acts  ii.  41;  xvi.  33;  Mark  vii.  4 ; 
Heb.  x.  10-21. 

In  these  Sections  we  are  taught  the  following  propo- 
sitions : 

460 


BAPTISM.  461 

1st.  Baptism  is  a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testament, 
instituted  immediately  by  Christ,  and  by  his  authority 
to  continue  in  the  Church  until  the  end  of  the  world. 

2d.  As  to  the  action  which  constitutes  baptism,  it  is 
a  washing  of  the  subject  with  water  (the  manner  of  the 
washing  not  being  essential),  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  a  lawfully- 
ordained  minister. 

3d.  It  is  done  with  the  design  and  effect  of  signifying 
and  sealing  our  ingrafting  into  Christ,  our  partaking  of 
the  benefits  of  his  covenant,  and  our  engagement  to  be 
his. 

1st.  Christian  baptism  is  an  ordinance  immediately 
instituted  by  Christ  himself,  and  designed  to  be  observed 
in  the  Church  until  the  end  of  the  world.  Washing  the 
body  with  water  to  represent  spiritual  purification  and 
consecration  was  a  natural  symbol  which  prevailed 
among  all  ancient  Eastern  nations,  as  the  Persians, 
Brahmins,  Egyptians,  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  pre- 
eminently among  the  Jews.  Paul  summarily  describes 
the  ancient  ceremonial  as  consisting  "  in  meats  and 
drinks  and  divers  baptisms."  Heb.  ix.  10.  John,  the 
forerunner  of  Jesus,  came  baptizing  also.  But  this  was 
not  Christian  baptism.  Because  (a)  John  was  the  last 
Old  Testament  prophet,  and  not  a  New  Testament 
apostle.  Luke  i.  17.  (6.)  He  did  not  baptize  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  (c.)  His  baptism  was  unto  repentance,  not  into 
the  faith  of  Christ,  (c?.)  He  did  not  by  baptism  in- 
troduce men  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Christian  Church, 
as  the  apostles  did  at  Pentecost.  Acts  ii.  41,  47.  (e.) 
Those  baptized  by  John   were  baptized   over   again    by 


iG2  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

the  apostles  when  they  were  admitted  to  the  Christian 
Church.  Acts  xviii.  24;  xix.  7.  For  analogous  rea- 
sons we  believe  that  the  baptism  performed  by  his 
disciples  previous  to  the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord  (John 
Hi.  22;  iv.  1,  2)  was  not  the  permanent  Christian  sac- 
rament of  baptism,  binding  its  subjects  to  the  faith  and 
obedience  of  the  Trinity,  and  initiating  them  into  the 
Christian  Church,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  like  the 
baptism  of  John,  it  was  a  purifying  rite,  binding  to  re- 
pentance and  preparing  the  way  for  the  coming  king- 
dom. 

It  is  certain  that  we  have  the  true  warrant  of  the 
Christian  sacrament  of  baptism  from  the  lips  of  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church  in  person,  in  Matt,  xxviii.  18- 
20:  "  All  power  is  given  to  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth. 
Go  ye,  therefore,  and  disciple  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you;  and  lo,  I  am 
with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 
Amen." 

Some,  as  the  Quakers,  have  not  understood  that  this 
command  imposes  the  obligation  of  the  perpetual  ob- 
servance of  this  ordinance.  That  the  observance  is  to 
endure  until  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  is  plain — (a.) 
From  the  universal  maxim  that  every  law  continues 
binding  until  it  is  abrogated,  or  until  the  reason  for  it 
has  ceased.  But  this  command  has  never  been  recalled, 
and  the  reason  for  its  observance  remains  precisely  what 
it  was  when  the  command  was  given.  (6.)  The  plain 
terms  of  ihi  command  reaches  (1)  to  all  nations,  and  (2) 
until   the  end  of  this  world  (auoi).     (c.)  The  example 


BAPTISM.  465 

of  tie  apostles.  Acts  ii.  38;  xvi.  33.  (d.)  The  con- 
stant practice  of  all  branches  of  the  Christian  Church 
from  the  beginning  to  the  present  time. 

2d.  As  to  the  action  which  constitutes  it,  baptism  is 
a  washing  with  water  (the  manner  of  washing  being  in- 
different) in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  a  lawfully-ordained  minister. 
The  reason  that  baptism  should  be  administered  only 
by  a  lawfully-ordained  minister  has  been  considered 
under  the  last  Chapter. 

The  Confession  teaches  that  the  command  to  baptize 
is  a  command  to  wash  with  water  in  the  name  of  the 
Trinity.  It  is  often,  but  erroneously  supposed  that  the 
controversy  between  our  Baptist  brethren  and  the  rest 
of  the  Christian  Church  with  respect  to  baptism  is  a 
question  of  mode;  they  affirming  that  the  only  right 
mode  is  to  immerse — we  affirming  that  the  best  mode  is 
to  sprinkle.  This  is  a  great  mistake.  The  real  Bap- 
tist position,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Alexander  Carson  (p.  55), 
is  that  the  command  to  baptize  is  a  simple  and  single 
command  to  immerse,  in  order  to  symbolize  the  death, 
burial  and  resurrection  of  the  believer  with  Christ. 
The  true  position  maintained  by  other  Christians  is,  that 
baptism  is  a  simple  and  single  command  to  wash  with 
water,  in  order  to  symbolize  the  purification  wrought  Ly 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  the  mode  of  washing  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  It  is  necessarily  perfectly  in- 
different, so  that  it  be  decent.  According  to  cur  view, 
the  essential  matter  is  the  water,  and  (ho  application  of 
the  water  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity.  According  to 
their  view,  the  essential  matter  is  the  burial,  total  im- 
mersion, in   water  or   sand   as   the  ease   may   be.     The 


464  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  view  entertained  by  the 
vast  majority  of  Christ's  Church  is  as  follows : 

(1.)  The  word  Bajtrt^o)  (baptizo)  in  its  classical  usage 
means,  to  dip,  to  moisten,  to  wet,  to  purify,  to  wash.  Dr. 
Carson  admits  that  he  has  all  the  lexicons  against 
him. 

(2.)  In  the  Septuagint,  Bcmxco  and  Danzc^co  occur  five 
times.  Thus,  Dan.  iv.  33,  Nebuchadnezzar  is  said  to  have 
been  wet  (baptized)  with  the  dew  of  heaven.  Ecclesias* 
ticus  xxxiv.  25:  "  He  that  baptizeth  himself  after  the 
touching  of  a  dead  body,"  but  this  purification  was  per- 
formed by  sprinkling.  Num.  xix.  9,  13,  20.  See  also 
2  Kings  v.  14,  and  Judith  xii.  7. 

(3.)  In  the  New  Testament,  Banze^io  is  used  inter- 
changeably with  vcTiTto,  which  only  means  to  wash. 
Compare  Mark  vii.  3,  4;  Luke  xi.  38;  Matt.  xv.  2-20; 
and  observe  (a)  that  to  baptize  is  there  used  interchange- 
ably with  to  wash.  (6.)  The  washing  was  to  effect 
purification,  for  the  unbaptized  hands  are  called  the  un- 
washed and  unclean  hands,  (c.)  The  common  mode  of 
washing  hands  in  those  countries  is  to  pour  water  upon 
them.  The  rich  have  servants  to  pour  the  water  on 
their  hands.  The  poor  pour  the  water  on  their  own 
hands. 

(4.)  When  John's  disciples  disputed  about  baptism,  it 
is  expressly  said  to  have  been  a  dispute  about  purifica- 
tion. John  iii.  22;  iv.  3. 

(5.)  The  same  idea  is  uniformly  expressed  by  the 
word  baptism  or  baptisms  in  the  New  Testament.  In 
Mark  vii.  2-8  we  read  of  the  baptisms  of  cups,  pots, 
brazen  vessels  and  tables  (couches  upon  which  several 
persons  reclined  at  table).     These  tilings  could   not  be, 


BAPTISM.  465 

ana  were  not,  immersed.  The  whole  object  of  the  ser- 
vice was  not  burial,  but  purification.  In  Heb.  ix.  10, 
Paul  says  that  the  first  tabernacle  "stood  only  in  meats 
and  drinks  and  diverse  baptisms;"  and  below,  in  verses 
13,  19,  21,  he  specifies  some  of  these  diverse  baptisms: 
u  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats,  and  the  ashes  of 
an  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanctifieth  to  the  puri- 
fying of  the  flesh,"  and  "  Moses  sprinkled  both  the  book 
and  ail  the  people,  and  the  tabernacle  and  all  the  vessels 
of  the  ministry." 

(6.)  Baptism  with  water  is  emblematical  of  baptism 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  object  of  which  is  spiritual  puri- 
fication. Luke  iii.  16;  Matt.  iii.  11;  Mark  i.  8;  John 
i.  26,  33;  Acts  i.  5;  xi.  16.  Spiritual  baptism  is  called 
"the  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Titus  iii.  5.  Baptism  with  water  symbolizes 
baptism  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  baptism  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  unites  us  to  Christ,  and  makes  us  one  with  him  in 
his  death,  in  his  resurrection,  in  his  new  life  unto  God, 
his  righteousness,  his  inheritance,  etc.,  etc.  Spiritual 
baptism  carries  all  these  consequences,  and  water  bap- 
tism represents  spiritual  baptism;  therefore  we  are  said 
to  be  baptized  into  Christ,  into  his  death,  into  one  body, 
to  be  buried  with  him,  to  rise  with  him,  so  as  to  walk 
with  him  in  newness  of  life;  to  put  on  Christ  (as  a  gar- 
ment), to  be  planted  together  with  him  (as  a  tree),  etc, 
None  of  these  have  anything  to  do  with  the  mode  of 
baptism,  because  it  is  simply  absurd  to  suppose  that 
ihe  same  action  can  at  the  same  time  symbolize  things 
so  different  as  burial,  putting  on  clothes  and  planting 
trees.  The  real  order  is,  washing  with  water  represents 
washing  of  the  Spirit.     Washing  of  the  Spirit  unites  to 

30 


406  COXFESSTOX    OF    FATTIT. 

Christ — union  with  Christ  involves  all  the  eonsequeneeb 
above  mentioned. 

(7.)  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  of  which  water  bap- 
tism is  the  emblem,  is  never  set  forth  in  Scripture  as  an 
"  immersion/'  but  always  as  a  "pouring"  and  "sprink- 
ling." Acts  ii.  1-4,  32,  33;  x.  44-48;  xi.  15,  16.  Of  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  it  is  said  he  "came  from  heaven," 
was  "poured  out,"  "shed  forth,"  "fell  on  them."  "I 
will  pour  my  Spirit  upon  thy  seed."  Isa.  lii.  15:  "So 
shall  he  sprinkle  many  nations."  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25-27  : 
"Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  clean,"  etc.  Joel  ii.  28,  29  :  "  I  will  pour  out  my 
Spirit  upon  all  flesh." 

(8.)  The  universally  prevalent  manner  of  effecting  the 
rite  of  purification  among  the  Jews,  from  the  analogy  ol 
which  Christian  baptism  was  taken,  was  by  sprinkling, 
and  not  by  immersion.  The  hands  and  feet  of  the 
priests  were  to  be  washed  at  the  brazen  laver,  from 
which  water  poured  out  through  spouts  or  cocks.  Ex. 
xxx.  18,  21 ;  2  Chron.  iv.  6 ;  1  Kings  vii.  27-39.  See 
also  Lev.  viii.  30 ;  xiv.  7,  51 ;  Ex.  xxiv.  5-8  :  Num.  viii. 
6,7;  Heb.  ix.  12-22. 

(9.)  In  1  Cor.  x.  1,  2,  the  Israelites  are  said  to  have 
been  "baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea." 
Compare  Ex.  xiv  19-31.  But  the  Egyptians  who  were 
immersed  were  not  baptized  ;  and  the  Israelites  who  were 
baptized  were  not  immersed.  Dr.  Carson  (p.  413)  says 
Moses  got  "a  dry  dip!"  In  1  Pet,  iii.  20,  21,  it  is  said 
that  baptism  was  the  antitype  of  the  salvation  of  the 
eight  souls  in  the  ark.  Yet  the  very  gist  of  their  salva- 
tion consisted  in  their  not  being  immersed. 

(10.)  Among  all  the  recorded  instances  of  baptism  per- 


BAPTISM.  4G7 

formed  by  John  the  Baptist  and  the  apostles,  there  is 
not  one  in  which  immersion  is  asserted,  while  there  are 
many  in  which  it  was  highly  improbable — (a.)  Because 
the  apostles  baptizing  and  the  early  converts  baptized 
were  all  Jews,  accustomed  to  purify  by  pouring  and 
sprinkling.  (6.)  Because  of  the  vast  multitudes  bap- 
tized at  one  time,  and  the  known  scarcity  of  water  in 
Jerusalem  and  generally  in  the  situations  spoken  of. 
The  eunuch  was  baptized  on  the  roadside  in  a  desert 
country.  Three  thousand  were  baptized  in  one  day  in 
the  dry  city  of  Jerusalem,  which  depends  upon  rain- 
water stored  in  tanks  and  cisterns.  The  vast  multitudes 
swarming  to  John.  The  jailor  baptized  in  prison  at 
midnight.  Paul  was  baptized  by  Ananias  right  at  his 
bedside.  Ananias  said,  "standing  up  he  be  baptized" 
and  "standing  up  he  was  baptized."  Acts  ix.  18;  xxii.  16. 
(c.)  The  earliest  pictorial  representations  of  baptism,  dat- 
ing from  the  second  or  third  century,  all  indicate  that  the 
manner  of  applying  the  water  to  the  body  of  the  bap- 
tized was  by  pouring,  (d.)  It  is  done  in  the  same  way 
universally  by  Eastern  Christians  at  the  present  time. 

That  it  is  essential  that  this  baptismal  washing  should 
be  done  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  plain  (1)  from  the  explicit  command 
to  that  effect  expressed  in  the  words  of  institution.  (2.) 
From  the  fact  that  baptism,  as  a  seal  of  the  covenant  of 
grace,  and  as  the  divinely-appointed  rite  of  initiation 
into  the  Christian  Church,  introduces  the  baptized  into 
covenant  with,  and  the  public  profession  of,  the  true 
God,  who  is  none  other  than  the  Father  and  the  Son 
and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

3d.  The  design  of  baptism  is  (1)  to  signify,  seal  and 


408  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

confer  to  those  to  whom  they  belong  the  benefits  oi 
Christ's  redemption.  Thns  (a)  it  signifies  or  symbolizes 
the  "  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  whereby  we  are  united  to  Christ  and  made  par- 
ticipants in  all  his  redemptive  grace.  (6.)  Christ  herein 
seals  the  truth  of  his  covenant,  and  thereby  conveys  to 
all  the  beneficiaries  of  that  covenant  the  grace  intended 
for  them. 

(2.)  The  design  of  baptism  is,  that  it  be  a  visible  sign 
of  our  covenant  to  be  the  Lord's  and  devoted  to  his  ser- 
vice, and  hence  it  is  a  public  profession  of  our  faith  and 
badge  of  our  allegiance,  and  hence  of  our  formal  initia- 
tion into  the  Christian  Church,  and  a  symbol  of  our 
union  with  our  fellow-Christians.  1  Cor.  xii.  13. 

Section  IV. — Not  only  those  that  do  actually  profess  faith  in 
and  obedience  unto  Christ,11  but  also  the  infants  of  one  or  both 
believing  parents,  are  to  be  baptized. 12 

11  Mark  xvi.  15,  16;  Acts  viii.  37,  38.— 12  Gen.  xvii.  7,  9;  Gal.  iii.  9, 
14;  Col.  ii.  11,  12;  Acts  ii.  38,  39;  Rom.  iv.  11,  12;  1  Cor.  vii.  14;  Matt. 
xxviii.  19;  Mark  x.  13-16;  Luke  xviii.  15. 

As  to  the  subjects  of  baptism,  our  Standards  teach — 
1st.  As  to  adults,  "Baptism  is  not  to  be  administered 
to  any  that  are  out  of  the  visible  Church,  and  so  strangers 
from  the  covenant  of  promise,  till  they  profess  their  faith 
in  Christ  and  obedience  to  him."  L.  Cat.,  Q.  166,  and 
S.  Cat.  Q.  95. 

This  is  of  course  self-evident,  since  the  intelligent  and 
honest  reception  of  baptism  itself  obviously  involves 
precisely  this  profession  of  faith  in  Christ  and  obedience 
to  him.  And  in  order  to  secure  this,  the  usage  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  requires  that  the  pastors  and  church 
session  should  inform  the  applicant  that  only  a  person 


BAPTISM.  4G9 

who  has  experienced  the  grace  of  regeneration,  and  who 
has  consequently  truly  repented  of  sin  and  exercised 
faith  in  Christ,  can  honestly  do  what  all  necessarily 
profess  to  do  when  they  are  baptized.  And  to  this  end 
the  pastor  and  session  must  require  of  the  applicant  the 
evidence  (a)  of  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  funda- 
mental truths  of  Christianity,  and  of  the  nature  and 
binding  obligation  of  baptism ;  (b)  of  the  fact  that  he 
makes  a  consistent  profession  of  a  personal  experimental 
faith  and  promise  of  obedience  to  the  Lord,  and  of  due 
subjection  to  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  Church ; 
(c)  of  the  fact  that  his  outward  walk  and  conversation 
do  not  belie  his  profession.  After  this,  the  entire  re- 
sponsibility of  the  step  must  lie  upon  the  person  making 
it.  The  church  officers  have  no  authority  to  sit  in  judg- 
ment upon  the  genuineness  of  his  Christian  character, 
because  God  has  given  to  no  class  of  men  the  ability  to 
judge  aright  of  such  matters.  Some  churches,  as,  for 
instance,  our  Covenanting  Presbyterian  brethren,  de- 
mand, as  a  condition  of  adult  baptism — or,  what  is  the 
same  thing,  admission  to  the  Church — in  addition  to 
the  profession  of  faith  in  the  fundamental  truths  of  the 
gospel,  adherence  to  certain  "  testimonies  "  embodying 
non-fundamental  denominational  peculiarities.  This 
we  believe  to  be  entirely  unauthorized.  The  Church  is 
Christ's  fold,  designed  for  all  his  sheep.  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper  are  the  common  rights  of  all  the  Lord's 
people.  If  any  man  holds  the  fundamentals  of  the  gos- 
pel and  professes  allegiance  to  our  common  Lord,  and 
acts  consistently  therewith,  we  have  no  right  to  exclude 
him  from  his  Father's  house.  It  is  just  as  presump- 
tuous to  make  terms  of  communion  which   Christ  has 


170  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

not  made  as  it  would  be  to  make  terms  of  salvation 
which  he  does  not  require. 

2d.  As  to  infants,  our  Standards  teach  that  an  infant, 
one  or  both  of  whose  parents  is  a  believer  (Conf.  Faith, 
chap,  xxviii.,  §  4) — i.  e.,  one  or  both  of  whose  parents 
profess  faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to  him  (L.  Cat., 
Q.  166) — is  to  be  baptized.  A  bare  outline  of  the  abun- 
dant scriptural  evidence  of  this  truth  may  be  stated  as 
follows : 

(1.)  In  constituting  human  nature  and  ordaining  the 
propagation  of  infant  children  from  parents,  God  has  in 
all  respects  made  the  standing  of  the  child  while  an 
infant  to  depend  upon  that  of  the  parent.  The  sin  of 
the  parent  carries  away  the  infant  from  God;  so  the  faith 
of  the  parent  brings  the  infant  near  to  God. 

(2.)  Every  covenant  God  has  ever  formed  with  man- 
kind has  included  the  child  with  the  parent — e.  g.,  the 
covenants  formed  with  Adam,  Noah  (Gen.  viii.  0-17), 
Abraham  (Gen.  xii.  2,  3 ;  xvii.  7),  with  Israel  through 
Moses  (Ex.  xx.  5),  and  again  (Dent.  xxix.  10-13);  and 
in  the  opening  sermon  of  the  New  Testament  dispensa- 
tion men  are  exhorted  to  repent  and  believe,  because  the 
"  promise  (covenant)  is  to  you  and  to  your  children"  etc. 
Acts  ii.  38,  39. 

(3.)  The  Old  Testament  Church  is  the  same  as  the 
New  Testament  Christian  Church,  (a.)  Paul  says  (Gal. 
iii.  8)  that  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  (Gen. 
xvii.  7)  is  the  " gospel;"  and  in  the  whole  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  he  shows  that  the  Old  Testament  ritual 
was  a  setting  forth  of  the  person  and  work  of  Christ. 
See  above,  under  Chapter  vii.  (b.)  Faith  was  the  con- 
dition  of   salvation   then   as   well   as   now.      Abraham 


BAPTISM.  471 

believed  God,  and  it  was  imputed  to  him  for  righteous- 
ness (Rom.  iv.  3),  so  that  he  was  the  great  typical  be- 
liever, "the  father  of  all  them  that  believe"  (Rom.  iv. 
11),  and  all  who  believe  in  Christ  "are  Abraham's  seed 
and  heirs  according  to  the  promise."  Gal.  iii.  29.  See 
also  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews.  All  the  Israel- 
ites, even  those  only  "according  to  the  flesh,"  processed 
to  believe.  And  all  "  true"  Israelites  did  believe.  "  He 
is  not  a  Jew  which  is  one  outwardly,  neither  is  that  cir- 
cumcision which  is  outward  in  the  flesh.  But  he  is  a 
Jew  that  is  one  inwardly;  and  circumcision  is  that  of 
the  heart,  in  the  spirit  and  not  in  the  letter."  Rom.  ii. 

28,  29.  (c.)  Circumcision,  precisely  in  the  same  sense 
and  to  the  same  extent  as  baptism,  represented  a  spirit- 
ual grace  and  bound  to  a  spiritual  profession.  This  is 
taught  in  the  Old  Testament,  as  witness  Deut.  xiv.  16; 
xxx.  6.  It  was  the  seal  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant, 
which  Paul  says  is  the  gospel.  It  was  the  seal  of  the 
righteousness  of  faith.  Rom.  ii.  28,  29;  iv.  11.  True 
circumcision  unites  to  Christ  and  secures  all  the  benefits 
of  his  redemption.  Col.  ii.  10,  11.  And  baptism  has 
now  taken  the  precise  place  of  circumcision  :  "  For  as 
many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  unto  Christ  have  put 
on  Christ,  and  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  ye  are  Abraham's 
seed  and  heirs,  according  to  the  promise."  Gal.  iii.  27, 

29.  (<:/.)  This  Church  is  identically  the  same  with  the 
New  Testament  Church.  It  has  the  same  foundation, 
the  same  condition  of  membership,  faith  and  obedi- 
ence, sacraments  of  the  same  spiritual  signifieancy 
and  binding  force.  The  ancient  prophecies  declare  that 
the  same  old  Church  is  to  be  enlarged,  not  changed. 
Isa.  xlix.  13-23;  lx.  1-14.    The  ancient  covenant  which 


472  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

was  the  fundamental  charter  of  the  Church  included 
"many  nations"  (Gen.  xvii.  4:  Rom.  iv.  17,  18;  Gal. 
iii.  8),  which  was  never  fulfilled  until  after  the  expan- 
sion of  the  Church  in  the  New  Testament  dispensation. 
And  Paul  says  that  the  Jewish  Church,  instead  of  being 
abrogated,  remains  the  same  through  all  change — the 
Jewish  branches  being  cut  off,  the  Gentile  branches 
being  grafted  in,  and  hereafter  the  Jews  are  to  be  re- 
stored, not  to  a  new  Church,  but  "into  their  own  olive 
tree:'  Rom.  xi.  18-24.     See  also  Eph.  ii.  11-22. 

(4.)  Infants  were  members  of  the  Church  under  the 
Old  Testament  from  the  beginning,  being  circumcised 
upon  the  faith  of  their  parents.  Now  as  the  Church  is 
the  same  Church;  as  the  conditions  of  membership 
were  the  same  then  as  now ;  as  circumcision  signified 
and  bound  to  precisely  what  baptism  does ;  and  since 
baptism  has  taken  precisely  the  place  of  circumcision, 
it  follows  that  the  church  membership  of  the  children 
of  professors  should  be  recognized  now  as  it  was  then, 
and  that  they  should  be  baptized.  The  only  ground  upon 
which  this  conclusion  could  be  obviated  would  be  that 
Christ  in  the  gospel  explicitly  turns  them  out  of  their 
ancient  birth-right  in  the  Church. 

(5.)  On  the  contrary,  Christ  and  his  apostles  uniformly, 
without  exception,  speak  of  and  treat  children  on  the 
assumption  that  they  remain  in  the  same  church  rela- 
tion they  have  always  occupied.  Christ,  speaking  to 
Jewish  apostles,  who  had  all  their  lives  never  heard  of 
any  other  than  the  old  Paedobaptist  Church,  into  which 
they  had  been  themselves  born  and  circumcised  (and 
their  infant  circumcision  was  the  only  baptism  they 
ever   received),   never   once  warns    them    that   he    had 


BAPTISM.  473 

changed  this  relation.  On  the  contrary,  he  says,  "  Of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven"  (i.  &.,  new  dispensation 
of  the  old  Church).  Matt.  xix.  14;  Luke  xviii.  16. 
He  commissioned  Peter  to  feed  the  lambs  as  well  as  the 
sheep  of  the  flock  (John  xxi.  15-17),  and  all  the  apos- 
tles to  disciple  "  all  nations"  by  first  baptizing  and  then 
teaching  them.  Matt,  xxviii.  18,  19.  If  only  one  of 
the  parents  is  a  Christian,  the  children  are  said  to  be 
"holy,"  or  "saints,"  which  is  a  common  designation  of 
church  members  in  the  New  Testament.  1  Cor.  vii.  14. 
In  the  old  Jewish  Church  every  proselyte  from  the 
heathen  brought  his  children  into  the  Church  with  him. 
So  the  Jewish  apostles  write  the  brief  history  of  their 
missionary  labors  precisely  as  all  modern  psedobaptist 
missionaries  write  theirs,  and  as  no  Baptist  missionary 
ever  wrote  from  the  first  rise  of  their  denomination. 
There  are  only  eleven  cases  of  baptism  recorded  in  the 
Acts  and  the  Epistles.  In  the  case  of  two  of  these, 
Paul  and  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  there  were  no  children 
to  be  baptized.  Five  of  the  cases  were  large  crowds. 
After  Stephanas  was  baptized  with  the  crowd  among 
"  the  many  Corinthians,"  Paul  baptized  his  household- 
Also  were  the  households  of  Lydia,  of  the  jailer,  of 
Crispus,  and  probably  of  Cornelius,  baptized.  Th«s  in 
every  case  in  which  the  household  existed  it  was  bap- 
tized. The  faith  of  the  head  of  the  household  is  men- 
tioned, but  not  that  of  the  household  itself,  except  in  one 
case,  and  that  as  a  general  fact.  The  apostles  also  address 
children  as  members  of  the  Church.  Compare  Eph.  i. 
1  with  Eph.  vi.  1-3,  and  Col.  i.  1,  2  with  Col.  iii.  20. 

(6.)  This  has  been  the  belief  and    practice  of  a  vast 
majority  of   God's   people   from   the   first     The  early 


474  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

Church,  in  unbroken  continuity  from  the  days  of  the 
apostles,  testify  to  their  custom  on  this  subject.  The 
Greek  and  Roman,  and  all  branches  of  the  Lutheran 
and  Reformed  churches,  agree  in  this  fundamental  point. 
The  Baptist  denomination,  which  opposes  the  whole 
Christian  world  in  this  matter,  is  a  very  modern  party, 
dating  from  the  Anabaptists  of  Germany,  A.  D.  1637. 

Our  Standards  teach  that  precisely  the  same  require- 
ments are  made  the  condition  on  the  part  of  the  parent 
of  having  his  child  baptized  that  are  made  the  condi- 
tion of  approach  to  the  Lord's  table.  S.  Cat.,  Q.  95 : 
"  Infants  of  such  as  are  members  of  the  visible  Church 
are  to  be  baptized."  This  is  explained,  L.  Cat.,  Q. 
166  :  infants  "  of  parents,  one  or  both  of  them  profess- 
ing faith  in  Christ;"  and  Conf.  Faith,  ch.  xxviii.,  §  4  : 
"  infants  of  one  or  both  believing  parents."  In  the 
Directory  for  Worship,  ch.  vii.,  the  minister  is  to  re- 
quire of  the  parents,  among  other  things,  "that  they 
pray  with  and  for  (the  child) ;  that  they  set  an  example 
of  piety  and  godliness  before  it,  and  endeavour  by  till 
means  of  God's  appointment  to  bring  up  their  child  in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord."  The  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  1794,  in  answer  to  an  overture  on  the 
subject,  declared  that  the  above  passage  in  the  Direc- 
tory is  to  be  understood  as  bringing  the  parent  under 
an  express  engagement  to  do  as  there  required  by  the 
minister.* 

Some  have  supposed,  since  the   church-membership 

of   the    child    follows    from  that    of   the    parent,   that 

every    person    who    was    himself    introduced    into    the 

Church  by  baptism  in  infancy  has  an  indefeasible  right 

*  Baird's  Digest,  p.  81. 


BAPTISM.  475 

to  have  his  children  baptized,  whether  he  professes  per- 
sonal faith  in  Christ  or  not.  But  this  is  manifestly 
absurd — (a.)  Because  all  members  of  the  Church  have 
not  a  right  to  all  privileges  of  church-membership. 
Thus  baptized  members  have  no  right  to  come  to  the 
communion  until  they  make  a  profession  of  personal 
faith.  Until  they  do  this  they  are  like  citizens  under 
age,  with  their  rights  held  in  suspension,  as  a  just  pun- 
ishment for  their  refusal  to  believe.  These  suspended 
rights  are  those  of  communing  and  having  their  chil- 
dren baptized.  (6.)  A  person  destitute  of  personal 
faith  can  only  commit  perjury  and  sacrilege  by  making 
the  solemn  professions  and  taking  the  obligations  in- 
volved in  the  baptismal  covenant.  It  is  a  sin  for  them 
to  do  it,  and  a  sin  for  the  minister  to  help  them  to  do  it. 

Section  V. — Although  it  be  a  great  sin  to  contemn  or  neglect 
this  ordinance,13  yet  grace  and  salvation  are  not  so  inseparably 
annexed  unto  it  as  that  no  person  can  be  regenerated  or  saved 
without  H,u  or  that  all  that  are  baptized  are  undoubtedly  regen- 
erated.15 

Section  VI. — The  efficacy  of  baptism  is  not  tied  to  that  mo- 
ment of  time  wherein  it  is  administered;16  yet  notwithstanding, 
by  the  right  use  of  this  ordinance,  the  grace  promised  is  not  only- 
offered,  but  really  exhibited  and  conferred  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
such  (whether  of  age  or  infants)  as  that  grace  belongeth  unto, 
according  to  the  counsel  of  (xod's  own  will,  in  his  appointed 
time.17 

Section  VII. — The  sacrament  of  baptism  is  but  once  to  be 
administered  to  any  person.18 

13  Luke  vii.  30;  Ex.  iv.  24-26.— "  Roin.  iv.  11;  Acts  x.  2,  4,  22,  31,  .5, 
47.— 15  Acts  viii.  13,  23.— w  John  iii.  5,  8.—"  Gal.  iii.  27;  Tit.  iii  5;  Eph. 
v.  25,  26;  Acts  ii.  38,  41.— 18  Tit.  iii.  5. 

These  Sections  teach — 


476  CONFESSION   OF    FAI^H. 

1st.  That  grace  and  salvation  are  not  so  inseparably 
united  to  baptism  that  only  the  baptized  are  saved,  or 
that  all  the  baptized  are  saved. 

2d.  That,  nevertheless,  it  is  a  great  sin  to  contemn  or 
neglect  this  ordinance,  for  that  its  observance  is  com- 
manded, and,  in  the  right  use  of  it,  the  grace  promised 
is  not  only  offered,  but  really  exhibited  and  conferred 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  such  (whether  of  age  or  infants) 
as  the  grace  belongeth  unto. 

3d.  That  the  efficacy  of  baptism,  even  in  cases  in 
which  the  grace  signified  is  really  conveyed,  is  not  tied 
down  to  the  moment  of  time  wherein  the  sacrament  is 
administered,  but  is  conveyed  to  the  recipient  according 
to  the  counsel  of  God's  own  will,  in  his  appointed  time. 

4th.  The  sacrament  of^ baptism  is  to  be  administered 
but  once  to  any  person. 

The  ground  taken  here  is  intermediate  between  two 
opposite  extremes — (1.)  The  extreme  held  by  Papists 
and  Ritualists  of  baptismal  regeneration,  (a.)  This  is 
not  taught  in  Scripture.  The  language  relied  upon  to 
prove  it  (John  iii.  5  ;  Acts  ii.  38)  is  easily  explained,  on 
the  principle  that,  in  virtue  of  the  sacramental  union 
between  the  sign  and  the  grace  signified,  what  is  true  of 
the  one  is  metaphorically  predicated  of  the  other.  There 
is  nothing  said  of  the  efficacy  of  baptism  which  is  not 
likewise  said  of  the  efficacy  of  the  truth.  James  i.  18; 
John  xvii.  19;  Pet.  i.  23.  But  the  mere  hearing  of  the 
truth  saves  no  one.  (b.)  Baptism  cannot  be  the  only  or 
ordinary  means  of  regeneration,  because  faith  and  re- 
pentance are  the  fruits  of  regeneration,  but  the  pre- 
requisites of  baptism.  Acts  ii.  38  ;  viii.  37  ;  xi.  47. 
[c.)  Universal  experience  in   Romanist  and   Ritualistic 


BAPTISM.  477 

communities  prove  that  the  baptized  are  not  generally 
regenerated.  Our  Saviour  says,  "  By  their  fruits  ye 
shall  know  them."  Matt.  vii.  20. 

(2.)  Our  Standards  oppose  the  other  extreme,  tbal 
baptism  is  a  mere  sign  of  grace  and  badge  of  Christian 
profession.     Their  doctrine  is — 

(a.)  That  baptism  does  not  only  signify,  but  really 
and  truly  seal  and  convey,  grace  to  those  to  whom  it 
belongs  according  to  covenant — that  is,  to  the  elect. 

(6.)  But  that  this  actual  conveyance  of  the  grace 
sealed  is  not  tied  to  the  moment  in  which  the  sacrament 
is  administered,  but  is  made  according  to  the  precise 
provisions  as  to  time  and  circumstance  predetermined 
in  the  eternal  covenant  of  grace.  So  property  may  be 
sealed  and  conveyed  in  a  deed  to  a  minor,  but  the 
minor  may  not  actually  enter  into  the  fruition  of  it  until 
such  time  and  upon  such  conditions  as  are  predeter- 
mined in  his  father's  will. 

(c.)  The  efficacy  of  the  sacrament  is  not  due  to  any 
spiritual  or  magical  quality  communicated  to  the  water. 

(d.)  But  this  efficacy  does  result  (1)  from  the  moral 
power  of  the  truth  which  the  rite  symbolizes.  (2.)  From 
the  fact  that  it  is  a  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  a 
legal  form  of  investing  those  persons  embraced  in  the 
covenant  with  the  graces  promised  therein.  (3.)  From 
the  personal  presence  and  sovereignly  gracious  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  uses  the  sacrament  as  his 
instrument  and  medium. 

(e.)  That  through  these  channels  the  grace  signified 
is  really  conveyed  to  the  persons  to  whom,  according  to 
the  divine  counsel,  it  truly  belongs,  yet  this  grace  and 
the  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  not  so  tied  to  the 


478  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

eacram?nt  that  they  are  never,  or  even  infrequently,  con- 
veyed in  any  other  way.  The  very  grace  conveyed  by 
the  sacrament  must  be  possessed  by  the  adult  as  a  pre- 
requisite to  baptism,  and  is  often  subsequently  experi- 
enced through  other  channels. 

(/.)  Hence  the  necessity  for  being  baptized  arises  (1) 
from  the  divine  command.  Obedience  is  of  course  ne- 
cessary where  there  is  knowledge.  (2.)  It  is  the  proper 
and  only  efficient  method  of  making  a  profession  of  faith 
and  allegiance  to  Christ.  (3.)  It  is  eminently  helpful 
as  a  means  of  grace. 

That  baptism  is  never  to  be  administered  more  than 
once  to  any  person  appears  (1)  from  the  symbolical 
significance  of  the  rite.  It  signifies  spiritual  regener- 
tion — the  inauguration  of  the  divine  life.  Of  course  it 
can  have  but  one  commencement.  (2.)  It  is  the  rite  of 
initiation  into  the  Christian  Church,  and  as  there  is  no 
provision  made  for  getting  out  of  the  Church  when 
once  in,  so  there  is  no  provision  made  for  coming  in 
more  than  once.  (3.)  The  apostles  baptized  each  in- 
dividual but  once. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition   taught  in   the   first  three 
Sections  of  this  Chapter? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  third  proposition  there  taught? 

4.  What  was  the  origin  of  ceremonial  washing,  and  the  extent 
to  which  its  observance  was  diffused  ? 

5.  State  the  evidence  that  the  baptism  of  John  was  not  Chris- 
tian baptism  ? 

6.  Give  your  reason  for  believing  that  the  baptisms  performed 


BAPTISM.  479 

by  the  disciples  of  Christ,  previous  to  his  resurrection,  were 
not  the  same  with  the  permanent  Christian  sacrament  of  that 
name. 

7.  Where  do  we  find  the  true  act  of  institution  and  warrant 
for  this  sacrament? 

8.  State  the  proof  that  it  is  designed  to  be  perpetually  observed 
until  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord. 

9.  What  is  the  precise  action  indicated  in  the  command  to 
baptize  ? 

10.  Why  may  only  lawfully-ordained  ministers  baptize? 

11.  What  is  the  true  statement  of  the  Baptist  position  with 
respect  to  the  act  intended  in  the  command  to  baptize  ? 

12.  What  is  the  precise  statement  of  our  view  of  the  subject? 

13.  What  is  essential  according  to  their  view,  and  what  accord- 
ing to  our  view  ? 

14.  What  is  the  classical  usage  of  the  word  baptizo  ? 

15.  How  often  does  it  occur  in  the  Septuagint  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  in  what  sense  ? 

16.  In  what  sense  is  baptizo  used  in  the  New  Testament? 

17.  In  what  sense  was  the  term  baptism  used  by  the  disciples 
of  John? 

18.  In  what  sense  is  the  term  "  baptism"  or  "  baptisms"'  used 
generally  in  the  New  Testament  ? 

19.  Of  what  is  water  baptism  emblematical? 

20.  What  consequences  does  baptism  by  the  Holy  Ghost  carry 
with  it? 

21.  Why  are  we  said  to  be  "  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism," 
etc. ,  etc.  ? 

22.  In  what  terms  is  baptism  by  the  Holy  Grhost  expressed  in 
Scripture?  as  an  immersion  or  as  "  a  pouring"  and  "a  sprink- 
ling?" 

23.  What  was  the  generally  prevalent  mode  of  effecting  the 
rite  of  purification  among  the  Jews  ? 

24.  What  light  do  1  Cor.  x.  12,  and  1  Pet.  iii.  20,  throw  upon 
this  subject? 

25.  Is  it  ever  said  that  John  the  Baptist  or  the  apostles  of 
Christ  baptized  by  immersion? 

26.  Taking  all  the  recorded  circumstances  of  the  several  bap- 


480  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

tisni  s  into  account,  on  which  side  and  to  what  degree  is  the  bal- 
ance of  probability? 

27.  Why  is  it  essential  that  the  rite  should  be  performed  in  the 
name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost? 

28.  What  was  the  first  design  of  baptism? 

29.  What  is  the  second  design  of  baptism  ? 

30.  What  do  our  Standards  teach  are  the  prerequisites  for  bap- 
tism on  the  part  of  adults? 

31.  What  are  the  pastor  and  church  session  competent  to 
require  and  to  judge  ? 

32.  Upon  whom  ultimately  must  the  responsibility  rest? 

33.  What  do  some  churches  require  of  applicants  for  baptism, 
in  addition  to  a  credible  profession  of  Christianity? 

34.  How  can  you  show  that  such  requirements  are  unwarrant- 
able? 

35.  What  do  our  Standards  teach  as  to  the  rights  of  infants  to 
baptism  ? 

36.  State  the  argument  derived  from  the  constitution  of  human 
nature  and  the  ordinary  providence  of  God. 

37.  Do  the  same  from  the  fact  that  all  God's  covenants  with 
mankind  include  the  children  with  the  parents. 

38.  Prove  that  the  gospel  Church  existed  under  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. 

39.  Prove  that  faith  was  the  condition  of  salvation  then  as 
now. 

40.  Prove  that  circumcision  had  the  same  spiritual  meaning 
that  baptism  now  has. 

41.  Prove  that  baptism  has  taken  the  precise  place  of  circum- 
cision. 

42.  Prove  that  the  Church  under  the  new  is  identically  the 
same  with  the  Church  under  the  old  dispensation. 

43.  Prove  that  infants  were  recognized  as  members  of  the  an- 
cient Church  from  its  very  beginning,  and  show  how  infant  bap- 
tism follows  as  a  necessary  consequent. 

44.  Show  that  Christ  and  his  apostles  always  spoke  of  and 
treated  children  on  the  assumption  of  their  church  membership. 

45.  Show  from  the  record  that  the  apostles  always  baptized 
the  households  of  believers  wherever  they  existed. 


BAPTISM.  481 

16.  What  has  been  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  Christian 
Chinch,  and  what  is  the  force  of  that  argument? 

47.  Whose  children,  according  to  our  Standards,  are  to  be  bap- 
tize 1  ? 

48.  What  does  the  Directory  of  Worship  require  of  parents 
bringing  their  children  forward  for  baptism,  and  what  conclusion 
follows? 

49.  What  is  the  position  and  what  the  rights  of  those  adults 
who,  having  been  baptized  in  infancy,  have  never  professed  per- 
sonal faith  in  Christ? 

50.  Why  ought  such  parties  to  be  denied  the  privilege  of  hav- 
ing their  children  baptized? 

51.  What  is  the  Jirst  proposition  taught  in  the  fifth,  sixth  and 
seventh  Sections? 

52.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

53.  What  is  the  third  proposition  ? 

54.  What  is  the  fourth? 

55.  Between  what  two  extremes  is  the  doctrine  as  to  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  sacraments  held  by  our  Church? 

56.  What  is  the  Romish  and  Ritualistic  doctrine  on  the  point? 

57.  Show  that  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  cannot 
be  true. 

58.  State  the  different  points  involved  in  the  doctrine  of  our 
Standards  as  to  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments. 

59.  From  what  sources  does  this  efficacy  result? 

60.  Show  that  baptism  presupposes  as  well  as  conveys  grace, 
and  draw  the  necessary  inference. 

61.  On  what  ground  and  to  what  extent  is  baptism  necessary? 

62.  Show  that  it  is  to  be  administered  to  the  same  person  but 
once. 

31 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

OF   THE   LORD'S   SUPPER. 

Section  I. — Our  Lord  Jesus,  in  the  night  wherein  he  was  be- 
trayed, instituted  the  sacrament  of  his  body  and  blood,  called  the 
Lord's  Supper,  to  be  observed  in  his  Church  unto  the  end  of  the 
world,  for  the  perpetual  remembrance  of  the  sacrifice  of  himself 
in  his  death,  the  sealing  all  benefits  thereof  unto  true  believers, 
their  spiritual  nourishment  and  growth  in  him,  their  further  en- 
gagement in  and  to  all  duties  which  they  owe  unto  him,  and  to 
be  a  bond  and  pledge  of  their  communion  with  him  and  with 
each  other,  as  members  of  his  mystical  body.1 

»  1  Cor.  xi.  23-26;  x.  16,  17,  21  ;  xii.  13. 

This  Section  teaches  us — (a.)  Of  the  time  in  which, 
and  the  person  by  whom,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  insti- 
tuted. (6.)  Of  its  perpetual  obligation.  (c.)  Of  its 
design  and  effect. 

1st.  Of  the  fact  that  it  was  instituted  by  our  Lord  in 
person  on  the  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  The  fact  is  explicitly  declared  by  three 
of  the  evangelists  (Matt.  xxvi.  26,  29;  Mark  xiv.  22-25; 
Luke  xxii.  19,  20)  and  by  Paul  (1  Cor.  xi.  23,  25),  and 
it  remains  to  this  day  a  monument  of  the  truth  of  the 
gospel  history  with  which  it  is  associated. 

2d.  That  it  was  designed  to  be  observed  perpetually 
to  the  end  of  the  world  is  evident — (1.)  From  the  words 
of  the  institution,  "Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me;" 
and  again,  "This  do  ye  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remem- 

482 


the  lord's  supper.  483 

bra  nee  of  me."  (2.)  The  apostolic  example.  Acts  ii. 
42.  (3.)  The  frequent  references  to  this  ordinance 
which  occur  in  the  apostolic  writings,  and  which  all 
imply  that  it  is  of  perpetual  obligation.  (4.)  The  uni- 
form and  universal  practice  of  the  Christian  Church  in 
all  its  branches  from  the  beginning. 

3d.  As  to  the  design  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  teach- 
ing of  our  Standards  may  be  exhibited  under  the  follow- 
ing heads : 

(1.)  The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  commemoration  of  the 
death  of  Christ.  This  is  evident — (a.)  From  the  fact 
that  the  bread  is  an  emblem  of  his  body  broken,  and  the 
wine  of  his  blood  shed  upon  the  cross  for  us.  Matt.  xxvi. 
28;  Luke  xxii.  19.  (b.)  From  the  fact  that  the  act 
of  eating  the  bread  and  of  drinking  the  wine  is  declared 
both  by  Christ  and  by  Paul,  to  be  done  "  in  remem- 
brance" of  Christ,  and  "to  show  forth  his  death  till  he 
come." 

(2.)  It  is  a  seal  of  the  gospel  covenant  wherein  all  the 
benefits  of  the  new  covenant  are  signified,  sealed  and 
applied  to  believers.  Conf.  Faith,  chap,  xxix.,  §  1 ;  L. 
Cat.,  Q.  162;  S.  Cat.,  Q.  92.  Christ  says,  "  This  cup  is 
the  New  Testament  (covenant)  of  my  blood,  which  is 
shed  for  you"  (Luke  xxii.  20);  i.  e.,  my  blood  is  the 
seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  this  cup  is  the  symbol 
of  my  blood,  and  as  such  is  offered  to  you.  In  its  use 
Christ  ratifies  his  promise  to  save  us  on  the  condition  of 
faith,  and  to  endow  us  with  all  the  benefits  of  his  re- 
demption. We,  in  taking  this  pledge,  solemnly  bind 
ourselves  to  entire  self-consecration  and  to  all  that  is 
involved  in  the  requirements  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  not 
as  we  understand  them,  but  aa  he  intends  them.    It  is  a 


484  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

universal  principle  that  all  oaths  bind  in  the  sense  in 
which  they  are  understood  by  the  persons  who  impose 
them. 

(3.)  Hence  it  is  a  badge  of  Christian  profession — a 
mark  of  allegiance  of  a  citizen  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

(4.)  It  was  designed  to  signify  and  effect  our  com- 
munion with  Christ,  in  his  person,  in  his  offices  and  in 
their  precious  fruits.  Paul  says  (1  Cor.  x.  10),  "The 
cup  which  we  drink,  is  it  not  the  communion  (xoeuatvia) 
of  the  blood  of  Christ?  and  the  bread  which  we  break, 
is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ?"  L.  Cat., 
Q.  170:  "  So  that  they  that  worthily  communicate  in  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  do  therein  feed  upon 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  not  after  a  corporal  or 
carnal,  but  in  a  spiritual  manner ;  yet  truly  and  really, 
while  by  faith  they  receive  and  apply  unto  themselves 
Christ  crucified  and  all  the  benefits  of  his  death.  The 
bread  represents  the  flesh  and  the  wine  represents  his 
blood.  We  receive  the  symbol  with  the  mouth  cor- 
porally, we  receive  the  flesh  and  blood  symbolized  by 
faith,  yet  really.  "  Whoso  eateth  and  drinketh  my  blood 
hath  eternal  life,  .  .  .  for  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and 
my  blood  is  drink  indeed." 

(5.)  It  was  designed  to  show  forth  and  to  effect  the 
mutual  communion  of  believers  with  each  other  as 
members  of  one  body  and  of  one  blood.  1  Cor.  x.  17: 
"  For  we  being  many  are  one  bread  and  one  body,  for 
we  are  all  partakers  of  that  one  bread."  Union  with  a 
common  Head  necessarily  implies  communion  with  each 
>ther  in  that  Head. 


the  lord's  supper.  485 

Section  II. — In  this  sacrament  Christ  is  not  offered  up  to  his 
Father,  nor  any  real  sacrifice  made  at  all  for  remission  of  sins  of 
the  quick  or  dead  ;2  but  only  a  commemoration  of  that  one  offer- 
ing up  of  himself  by  himself,  upon  the  cross,  once  for  all,  and  a 
spiritual  oblation  of  all  possible  praise  unto  God  for  the  same  ;a 
so  that  the  popish  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  as  they  call  it,  is  most 
abominably  injurious  to  Christ's  one  only  sacrifice,  the  alone  pro- 
pitiation for  all  the  sins  of  the  elect,4 

Section  III. — The  Lord  Jesus  hath,  in  this  ordinance,  ap- 
pointed his  ministers  to  declare  his  word  of  institution  to  the 
people,  to  pray,  and  bless  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine,  and 
thereby  to  set  them  apart  from  a  common  to  a  holy  use ;  and  to 
take  and  break  the  bread,  to  take  the  cup,  and  (they  communi- 
cating also  themselves)  to  give  both  to  the  communicants  ;5  but 
to  none  who  are  not  then  present  in  the  congregation.6 

Section  IV. — Private  masses,  or  receiving  this  sacrament  by 
a  priest,  or  any  other  alone  ;7  as  likewise  the  denial  of  the  cup  to 
the  people  ;8  worshipping  the  elements,  the  lifting  them  up,  or 
carrying  them  about  for  adoration,  and  the  reserving  them  for 
any  pretended  religious  use ;  are  all  contrary  to  the  nature  of  this 
sacrament,  and  to  the  institution  of  Christ.9 

Section  V. — The  outward  elements  in  this  sacrament,  duly 
set  apart  to  the  uses  ordained  by  Christ,  have  such  a  relation  to 
him  crucified,  as  that  truly,  yet  sacramentally  only,  they  are 
sometimes  called  by  the  name  of  the  things  they  represent,  to 
wit:  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ;10  albeit,  in  substance  and 
nature,  they  still  remain  truly  and  only  bread  and  wine,  as  they 
were  before.11 

Section  VI. — That  doctrine  which  maintains  a  cnange  of  the 
substance  of  bread  and  wine  into  the  substance  of  Christ's  body 
and  blood  (commonly  called  transubstantiation),  by  consecration 
of  a  priest,  or  by  any  other  way,  is  repugnant  not  to  Scripture 
alone,  but  even  to  common  sense  and  reason  ;  overthroweth  the 
nature  of  the  sacrament ;  and  hath  been,  and  is,  the  cause  of 
manifold  superstitions,  yea,  of  gross  idolatries.12 

-  Heb.  ix.  22,  25,  26,  28.— 3  1  Cor.  xi.  24-26 ;  Matt.  xxvi.  26,  27.—*  Ileb. 
vii.  23,  24,  27  ;  x.  11,  12,  14,  18.— 5  Matt.  xxvi.  26-28;  Mark  xiv.  22-24; 
Lute  xxii.  19,  20;  1  Cor.  xi.  23-26.— 6  Acts  xx.  7;  1  Cor.  xi.  20.— M  Cor. 


486  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

x.  6.— 8  Mark  xiv.  23  ;  1  Cor.  xi.  25-29.— »  Matt.  xv.  9.— 10  Mitt,  xx  ri.  26 
28.— ii  1  Cor.  xi.  26-28;  Matt.  xxvi.  29.— i2  Acts  iii.  21;  1  Cor.  xi.  24-26 
Luke  xxiv.  6,  39. 

The  form  in  which  the  statements  made  in  these  Sec- 
tions are  put  is  rather  negative  than  positive — rather  de- 
signed to  oppose  certain  Romish  and  Ritualistic  errors 
than  to  make  a  simple  statement  of  the  true  doctrine  of 
the  sacrament.  The  errors  which  are  here  opposed  are 
— (1.)  The  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  or  the  change 
of  the  entire  substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  into  the 
body,  blood,  soul  and  divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  (2.) 
The  sacrifice  of  the  mass.  (3.)  The  worshipping  and 
reservation  of  the  elements  for  any  pretended  religious 
use.  (4.)  Denying  the  cup  to  the  laity.  (5.)  Private 
communion  of  the  priest  alone,  or  the  sending  of  the 
elements  to  persons  not  present  at  the  administration 
of  the  ordinance. 

In  order  to  make  the  statements  of  these  Sections 
plain,  we  will  first  state  the  true  doctrine  (1)  as  to  what 
elements  and  actions  are  essential  to  the  sacrament,  and 
(2)  as  to  the  true  relation  between  the  sign  and  the 
grace  signified ;  and  secondly,  present  the  opposing  papal 
errors  upon  the  points  above  stated. 

1st.  The  true  doctrine  (1)  as  to  the  elements.  These 
are — (a..)  Bread.  This  is  essential,  because  it  is  in  the 
command,  and  because  bread  as  the  staff  of  life  for  the 
body  is  the  proper  symbol  of  that  spiritual  food  that 
nourishes  the  soul.  Christ  instituted  the  supper  at  the 
passover,  when  the  only  bread  at  hand  was  unleavened. 
The  early  Church  always  used  the  common  bread 
of  daily  life.  Tho  Romish  and  Lutheran  churches 
hold   that  unleavened  bread   should  be   used;  the   Re- 


THE    LOUT)  S    SUPPER.  487 

formed  churches  have  uniformly  held  that  the  bread 
intended,  and  that  best  fulfils  the  conditions  of  tue  sym- 
bol, is  the  common  bread  of  daily  life — not  the  sweet 
cake  used  in  so  many  of  our  old  churches,  (b.)  Wine — 
that  is,  otvoz,  the  fermented  juice  of  the  grape.  Matt, 
ix.  17;  John  ii.  3-10;  Rom.  xiv.  21;  Eph.  v.  18;  1 
Tim.  iii.  8;  v.  23;  Titus  ii.  3.  This  is  made  essential 
by  the  command  and  example  of  Christ,  and  by  the 
uniform  custom  of  the  Christian  Church  from  the 
beginning. 

(2.)  As  to  the  sacramental  actions  which  are  essential 
to  this  ordinance.  (a.)  The  consecration.  This  in- 
cludes the  repetition  of  the  words  of  Christ  used  in  the 
institution,  together  with  a  prayer  in  which  the  divine 
blessing  is  invoked  upon  the  worshippers  in  the  use  of 
the  ordinance,  and  so  much  of  the  elements  as  shall  be 
used  in  the  sacrament  set  apart  from  a  common  to  a 
sacred  use.  (See  §  iii.  of  this  Chapter).  The  words  which 
express  this  in  the  Scripture  are  iuyapcazico  (Luke  xxii. 
19),  and  kuloyico  (Matt.  xxvi.  36),  and  (1  Cor.  x.  16). 
(b.)  The  breaking  of  bread.  This  is  symbolical  of  the 
rending  of  Christ's  body  on  the  cross,  and  of  all  the  com- 
municants being  many  feeding  upon  one  Christ,  as  upon 
one  bread.  It  is  particularly  mentioned  in  every  ac- 
count given  of  the  institution  by  the  evangelists.  Matt, 
xxvi.  26;  Mark  xiv.  22;  Luke  xxii.  19;  1  Cor.  xi.  24. 
See  1  Cor.  x.  16.  In  Acts  ii.  42  the  whole  ordinance 
is  designated  from  this  constituent  action. 

(c.)  The  distribution  and  reception  of  the  elements 
This  is  an  essential  part  of  oie  ordinance,  which  is  not 
completed  when  the  minister  consecrates  the  elements, 
nor  until  they  arc  actually  received  and  eaten  and  drunk 


488  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

by  the  people.  Christ  says :  "  This  do  ye,  in  remem- 
brance of  me."  Paul  adds,  "  For  as  oft  as  ye  eat  this 
bread  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death 
till  he  comes."  So  that  the  essence  of  the  sacrament 
consists  in  the  eating  and  the  drinking. 

2d.  The  papal  errors  condemned  in  these  Sections  are 
(1)  their  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  or  conversion  of 
substance.  The  Council  of  Trent  teaches,  sess.  xiii. 
cans.  1-4,  that  the  whole  substance  of  the  bread  is 
changed  into  the  literal  body,  and  the  whole  sub- 
stance of  the  wine  is  changed  into  the  literal  blood  of 
Christ,  so  that  only  the  appearance  or  sensible  proper- 
ties of  the  bread  and  wine  remain,  and  the  only  sub- 
stances present  are  the  true  body  and  blood,  soul  and 
divinity  of  our  Lord.  And  thus  he  is  objectively  pre- 
sented to  and  is  eaten  and  drunk  by  every  recipient, 
believer  and  unbeliever  indifferently,  and  thus  he  re- 
mains before  and  after  the  communion,  his  very  body 
and  blood,  Godhead  and  manhood  shut  up  in  a  vessel, 
carried  about,  elevated,  worshipped,  etc. 

The  Lutherans  hold  that  while  the  bread  and  the 
wine  remain,  nevertheless  at  the  words  of  consecration 
the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  though  invisible,  are 
really  present  in,  with  and  under  the  bread  and  wine. 

The  only  ground  of  this  doctrine  is  the  word  of  our 
Lord,  "  This  is  my  body."  They  hold  the  word  "  is  " 
is  literal;  all  the  Reformed  churches  hold  it  must  mean 
"  represents,"  "  symbolizes."  This  is  a  frequent  usage 
of  the  word  in  Scripture.  "  The  seven  good  kine  art 
the  seven  years,  and  the  seven  good  ears  are  the  seven 
years."  Gen.  xli.  26,  27  ;  Ezek.  xxxvii.  11 ;  Dan.  vii. 
24 ;  Luke  xii.  1 ;  Rev.  i.  20.     Besides,  when  our  Lord 


the  lord's  supper.  489 

said  this  and  gave  them  the  bread  to  eat,  he  was  sitting 
by  them  in  his  sound,  undivided  flesh,  eating  and  drink- 
ing with  them. 

This  doctrine,  then,  is  false — (a)  because  it  is  not  taught 
in  Scripture;  (6)  because  it  confounds  the  very  idea  of 
sacrament,  making  the  sign  identical  with  the  thing  it  sig- 
nifies, (c.)  It  contradicts  our  senses,  since  we  see,  smell, 
taste  and  feel  bread  and  wine,  and  do  never  either  see 
or  smell  or  taste  or  feel  flesh  and  blood,  (d.)  It  con- 
tradicts reason,  for  reason  teaches  that  qualities  cannot 
exist  except  as  they  inhere  in  some  substance,  and  that 
substance  cannot  be  known  and  cannot  act  except  by 
its  qualities.  But  this  doctrine  supposes  that  the  quali- 
ties of  bread  and  wine  remain  without  any  substance, 
and  that  the  substance  of  flesh  and  blood  remains  with- 
out any  qualities,  (e.)  It  is  absurd  and  impossible, 
because  Christ's  glorified  body  is  still  material,  and 
therefore  finite,  and  therefore  not  omnipresent  in  all 
places  on  earth,  but  absent  at  the  right  hand  of  God  in 
heaven. 

(2.)  Their  doctrine  as  to  the  mass  as  a  sacrifice.  The 
Council  of  Trent  teaches  (sess.  xxii.,  cans.  1-3)  that  the 
Eucharist  is  both  a  sacrament  and  a  sacrifice.  As  a 
sacrament,  the  soul  of  the  recipient  is  nourished  by  the 
real  body,  blood,  soul  and  divinity  of  Christ,  which  he 
eats  in  the  form  of  a  wafer.  As  a  sacrifice,  it  is  "  an 
external  oblation  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  offered 
to  God  in  recognition  of  his  supreme  lordship  under 
the  appearance  of  bread  and  wine  visibly  exhibited 
by  a  legitimate  minister,  with  the  addition  of  certain 
prayers  and  ceremonies  pn  scribed  by  the  Church,  for 
the  greater  worship  of  God   md  edification  of  the  peo 


490  CONFESSION   OF    FATTH. 

pie."*  This  is  not  a  mere  act  in  commemoration  of  the 
one  sacrifice  upon  the  cross,  but  a  constantly-repeated 
real,  although  bloodless,  expiatory  sacrifice,  atoning  for 
'An  and  propitiating  God.f 

This  doctrine  is  false,  because  (a)  it  is  nowhere  taught 
in  Scripture.  (6.)  The  Christian  ministry  are  never 
called  or  spoken  of  as  priests,  but  as  "  teachers "  and 
"  rulers."  (c.)  The  one  sacrifice  of  Christ  on  the  cross 
was  perfect,  and  excludes  all  others.  Heb.  ix.  25-28 ; 
x.  10-27.  (d.)  The  same  ordinance  cannot  be~  both  a 
sacrament  and  a  sacrifice.  Christ  says  that  by  eating 
and  drinking  we  are  "to  show  forth  his  death,"  and  "to 
do  this  in  remembrance  of  him."  The  same  act  cannot 
be  a  commemoration  of  one  sacrifice,  and  itself  an  actual 
sacrifice  having  intrinsic  sin-expiating  efficacy. 

(3.)  Since  the  Papists  hold  that  the  entire  substance 
of  the  bread  and  wine  is  permanently  changed  into  the 
body,  blood,  soul  and  divinity  of  Christ,  they  conse- 
quently maintain  that  the  principal  intention  of  the 
ordinance  is  accomplished  when  the  words  of  consecra- 
tion are  pronounced  and  the  change  effected.  Hence 
they  preserve  the  host  carefully  shut  up  in  the  pyx, 
elevate  and  adore  and  carry  it  about  in  their  processions. 

All  this  stands  or  falls  with  the  doctrine  of  transub- 
stantiation,  before  refuted. 

(4.)  After  the  establishment  of  the  doctrine  of  tran- 
substantiation,  there  arose  the  natural  fear  lest  some  of 
the  august  person  of  the  Lord  should  be  spilt  or  lost 
from  the  crumbling  of  the  bread  or  the  spilling  of  the 
wine.    Hence  the  bread  is  prepared  in  little  wafers  which 

*  Dens,  vol.  v.,  p.  358. 

f  Council  Trent,  sess.  xxii.,  can.  3. 


491 

cannot  crumble,  and  the  cup  is  denied  to  the  laity  and 
confined  to  the  priests.  To  comfort  the  laity  they  teach 
as  the  blood  is  in  the  flesh,  and  as  the  soul  is  in  the 
body,  and  as  the  divinity  is  in  the  soul  of  Christ,  that 
the  whole  person — body,  blood,  soul  and  divinity—  of 
Christ  is  equally  in  every  particle  of  the  bread,  so  that 
he  who  receives  the  bread  receives  all.* 

(5.)  In  opposition  to  the  manifold  abuses  of  this 
ordinance  which  prevail  among  the  Romanists,  our 
Standards,  in  common  with  the  general  judgment  of 
the  Reformed  churches,  teach  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is 
essentially  a  communion,  in  which  the  fellowship  of  the 
believer  with  Christ  and  with  his  fellow-believers  is  set 
forth  by  their  eating  and  drinking  of  the  same  bread 
and  the  same  cup.  It  follows  that  it  should  not  be  sent 
to  persons  not  present  at  the  administration,  nor  admin- 
istered by  the  officiating  priest  to  himself  alone.  In 
particular  cases,  however,  it  may  be  administered  in 
private  houses  for  the  benefit  of  Christians  long  confined 
by  sickness,  provided  that  the  officers  and  a  sufficient 
number  of  the  members  of  the  church  be  present  to  pre- 
serve the  true  character  of  the  ordinance  as  a  communion. 

Section  VII. — Worthy  receivers,  outwardly  partaking  of  the 
visible  elements  in  this  sacrament,13  do  then  also  inwardly  by 
faith,  really  and  indeed,  yet  not  carnally  and  corporally,  but 
spiritually,  receive  and  feed  upon  Christ  crucified,  and  all  bene- 
fits of  his  death ;  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  being  then  not 
corporally  or  carnally  in,  with  or  under  the  bread  and  wine;  yet 
as  really,  but  spiritually,  present  to  the  faith  of  believers  in  that 
ordinance  as  the  elements  themselves  are  to  their  outward  senses.1* 

Section  VIII. — Although  ignorant  and  wicked  men  receive 
die  outward  elements  in  this  sacrament,  yet  they  receive  not  the 


492  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

thing  signified  thereby,  but  by  their  unworthy  coming  thereunto 
are  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord  to  their  own  dam- 
nation. Wherefore  all  ignorant  and  ungodly  persons,  as  they  are 
unfit  to  enjoy  communion  with  him,  so  are  they  unworthy  of  the 
Lord's  table,  and  cannot,  without  great  sin  against  Christ,  while 
they  remain  such,  partake  of  these  holy  mysteries,15  or  be  admit- 
ted thereunto.16 

13  1  Cor.  xi.  28.— "  1  Cor.  x.  16.— »  1  Cor.  xi.  27-29;  2  Cor.  vi.  14-16.— 
16  1  Cor.  v.  6,  1,  13;  2  Thess.  iii.  6,  14,  15;  Matt.  vii.  6. 

These  Sections  teach  the  Reformed  doctrine  as  to  the 
relation  which  in  the  Lord's  Supper  subsists  between 
the  sign  and  the  grace  signified — that  is,  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament,  and 
the  sense  in  which,  consequently,  the  worthy  recipient 
is  said  to  feed  upon  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord. 
This  Reformed  doctrine  may  be  stated  as  follows : 

1st.  The  bread  and  wine — always  remaining  mere 
bread  and  wine,  without  change  —  represent,  by  the 
divine  appointment,  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Re- 
deemer offered  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin.  The  relation 
between  the  bread  and  wine  and  the  body  and  blood  is 
purely  moral  or  representative. 

2d.  The  body  and  blood  are  present,  therefore,  only 
virtually — that  is,  the  virtues  and  effects  of  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  body  of  the  Redeemer  on  the  cross  are  made 
present  and  are  actually  conveyed  in  the  sacrament  to 
the  worthy  receiver  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  uses  the  sacrament  as  his  instrument  according  to 
his  sovereign  will. 

3d.  When  it  is  said,  therefore,  that  believers  receive 
and  feed  upon  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  it  is  meant 
that  they  receive  not  by  the  mouth,  but  through  faith, 
the  benefits  secured  by  Christ 8  sacrificial  death  upon 


the  lord's  supper.  493 

(he  cross — that  this  feeding  upon  Christ  is  purely  spir- 
itual, accomplished  through  the  free  and  sovereign 
agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  through  the  instrumen- 
tality and  in  the  exercise  of  faith  alone.  So  that  in  no 
case  is  it  ever  done  by  the  unbeliever.  The  unbeliever 
therefore,  receiving  the  outward  sign  with  his  mouth 
while  he  fails  to  receive  the  inward  grace  in  his  soul, 
only  increases  his  own  condemnation  and  hardens  his 
own  heart  by  the  exercise.  All,  therefore,  who  are 
known  to  be  unbelievers,  and  whose  unbelief  is  made 
manifest  either  by  their  ignorance  or  their  ungodliness, 
should  be  prevented,  both  for  their  own  sake  and  for 
the  Church's  sake,  from  coming  to  the  Lord's  table 
until  they  are  able  to  make  a  credible  profession  of  their 
faith. 

4th.  Hence,  also,  it  follows  that  believers  do  in  the 
same  sense  receive  and  feed  upon  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  at  other  times  without  the  use  of  the  sacrament, 
and  in  the  use  of  other  means  of  grace — as  prayer,  med- 
itation on  the  Word,  etc.* 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  are  the  subjects  treated  of  in  the  first  Section? 

2.  State  the  evidence  that  this  ordinance  was  instituted  imme- 
diately by  the  Lord  in  person. 

3.  State  the  proof  that  it  was  designed  to  be  perpetually  ob 
served  in  the  Church  until  the  second  coming  of  Christ. 

4.  What  is  the  first  point  taught  in  our  Standards  as  to  the 
dssign  of  the  Lord's  Supper? 

5.  State  the  proof  upon  which  that  position  rests. 

*  Dr.  Charles  Hodge's  Lectures.    The  Consensus  Tigurinus  of  Cal- 
vin, caps.  19-26,  inclusive. 


491  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

6.  What  is  the  second  point  taught  as  to  its  design 

7.  Prove  the  correctness  of  that  position.' 

8.  What  is  the  third  point  taught  as  to  the  design  of  this  ordi 
nance? 

9.  What  is  the  fourth  point  taught? 

10.  Prove  the  correctness  of  that  position. 

11.  What  is  the  fifth  point  taught  as  to  the  design  of  the 
Lord's  Supper? 

12.  In  what  form  are  the  statements  involved  in  second,  third, 
fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  Sections  of  this  Chapter  presented? 

13.  What  are  the  five  Romish  errors  with  respect  to  the  Lord's 
Supper  there  denied  ? 

14.  What,  according  to  the  true  doctrine,  are  the  elements 
essential  to  this  ordinance? 

15.  What  kind  of  bread  is  proper?  and  assign  the  reason. 

16.  Prove  that  bread  is  essential  to  the  ordinance,  and  assign 
the  reason. 

17.  Prove  that  the  "wine"  intended  is  the  fermented  juice  of 
the  grape,  and  assign  the  reason  that  its  use  is  essential. 

18.  How  are  the  elements  consecrated,  and  what  is  intended 
by  that  term  in  this  application  of  it? 

19.  What  is  the  symbolical  import  of  the  "breaking  of  bread?" 
And  prove  that  it  is  one  of  the  essential  sacramental  actions. 

20.  Prove  that  the  distribution  of  the  elements  to  and  their 
reception  by  the  communicants  are  integral  and  essential  parts  of 
the  ordinance. 

21.  WThat  does  the  word  "  transubstantiation"  mean? 

22.  State  the  Romish  doctrine  as  to  the  change  of  the  bread 
and  wine  into  the  flesh,  blood,  soul  and  divinity  of  Christ. 

23.  What  is  the  Lutheran  doctrine  upon  the  subject,  and  how 
far  does  it  agree  with  and  how  far  differ  from  the  Romish  doc- 
trine? 

24.  What  is  their  only  biblical  ground  for  this  doctrine? 

25.  What  is  the  true  meaning  of  the  word  "is"  in  the  words 
of  institution,  "This  is  my  body"  ?  and  prove  your  answer. 

26.  Show  that  this  doctrine  is  unsupported  by  Scripiure,  and 
mow  how  it  contradicts  the  senses  and  reason. 

27.  Show  why  it  is  absurd  and  impossible. 


THE    LORDS   SUPPER.  495 

28.  What  distinction  do  they  make  in  regard  to  the  pretended 
twofold  character  of  the  Eucharist? 

29.  What  is  their  doctrine  as  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  ? 

30.  Prove  that  this  doctrine  is  radically  false  and  injurious. 

31.  What  are  the  serious  objections  to  calling  the  communion- 
table an  altar,  and  the  minister  a  priest? 

32.  Why  do  Romanists  hold  that  the  distribution  and  recep- 
tion of  the  elements  are  not  essential  parts  of  this  ordinance,  and 
how  do  they  treat  the  consecrated  elements? 

33.  Why  do  they  withhold  the  cup  from  the  laity,  and  on 
what  grounds  do  they  pretend  that  the  cup  is  not  necessary  as 
well  as  the  bread  to  valid  communion  ? 

34.  What  papal  and  Ritualistic  error  as  to  private  communion 
is  opposed  in  these  Sections,  and  on  what  grounds  ? 

35.  Under  what  circumstances,  and  in  what  manner  may  the 
communion  be  properly  administered  in  private  houses  ? 

36.  What  are  the  subjects  treated  of  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
Sections  of  this  Chapter  ? 

37.  What  is  the  Jirst  proposition  taught? 

38.  What  is  the  true  nature  of  the  relation  subsisting  between 
the  sign  and  the  grace  signified? 

39.  In  what  sense  are  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  present  in 
the  sacrament? 

40.  In  what  sense  is  the  believer  said  to  feed  upon  "  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ"? 

41.  By  whose  agency  is  this  alone  accomplished? 

42.  What  is  the  relation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  sacrament, 
and  the  blessing  it  conveys? 

43.  What  relation  does  the  faith  of  the  recipient  sustain  to  the 
blessing  signified  and  conveyed? 

44.  What  effect  has  this  ordinance  upon  the  unbeliever? 

45.  How  are  those  known  to  be  ignorant  or  unworthy  to  be 
treated  in  this  regard  ? 

46.  Do  believers  ever  receive  the  same  grace  without  the  use 
of  the  sacrament,  and  how? 


CHAPTER  XXX 


OF    CHURCH    CENSURES. 


Section  I. — The  Lord  Jesus,  as  King  and  Head  of  his  Church, 
hath  therein  appointed  a  government  in  the  hand  of  church 
officers,  distinct  from  the  civil  magistrate.1 

»  Isa.  ix.  6,  7;  1  Tim.  v.  17;  1  Thess.  v.  12;  Acts  xx.  17,  18;  Heb. 
xiii.  7,  17,  24;  1  Cor.  xii.  28  ;  Matt,  xxviii.  18-20. 

The  principle  designated  Erastianism,  which  has 
been  practically  embodied  in  all  the  State  churches  of 
the  Old  World,  includes  the  following  elements:  (1.) 
That  the  Church  is  an  organ  of  the  State  to  accomplish 
one  of  its  general  functions,  and  consequently  that  there 
is  no  government  of  the  Church  independent  of  that  of 
the  State,  but  that  its  officers,  its  laws  and  their  admin- 
istration are  in  all  things  subject  to  the  civil  govern- 
ment. (2.)  That  all  the  subjects  of  the  State  are,  ipso 
facto,  members  of  the  Church,  and  entitled  to  all  its 
ordinances.  (3.)  That  the  duties  and  prerogatives  of 
church  officers  include  simply  the  functions  of  teaching 
and  administering  the  ordinances,  and  do  not  include 
discipline,  because,  according  to  this  view,  to  exclude 
a  man  from  Church  ordinances  is  to  deny  him  his  civil 
rights  as  a  citizen. 

In  opposition  to  this  doctrine,  our  Confession  in  this 
Seel  ion  teaches — 

496 


CHURCH    CENSURES.  497 

1st.  That  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  mediatorial  King, 
has  appointed  a  government  for  his  Church  ;   and, 

2d.  That  this  church  government  is  distinct  in  all 
respects  from  the  civil  government. 

1st.  Christ  the  God-man,  as  mediatorial  King,  by  his 
inspired  apostles  and  their  writings,  appointed  a  govern- 
ment for  his  Church,  and  by  his  providence  and  Spirit 
he  continues  graciously  to  administer  it  to  the  end  of 
time.  Hence  the  Church  is  a  theocratic  kingdom.  All 
authority  and  power  descends,  and  does  not  ascend. 
Pastors  and  elders  teach  and  rule  in  the  name  of  God, 
and  not  of  man.  It  is  the  commission  of  Christ,  and  not 
of  the  Church,  that  the  minister  carries  with  him,  and 
by  authority  of  which  he  acts.  The  Church  only  wit- 
nesses to  the  genuineness  of  this  commission,  and  sees  that 
it  is  faithfully  discharged  by  the  bearer  of  it.  Hence 
all  the  power  of  church  officers,  either  in  their  several 
or  collective  capacity,  is  ministerial  and  declarative. 
They  have  only  to  define  what  Christ  has  taught,  to 
carry  that  teaching  to  all  men,  and  to  execute  the  laws 
he  has  given,  and  to  administer  the  penalties  he  has 
designated  according  to  his  will  and  in  his  name. 

2d.  This  theocratic  government  of  the  Church  which 
Christ  has  established  is  entirely  independent  of  the  civil 
government.  To  very  many  in  Europe  it  appeared  im- 
possible that  two  independent  governments  should  exer- 
cise jurisdiction  at  the  same  time  pver  the  same  subjects 
without  constant  collision.  But  the  experience  of  the 
dissenting  bodies  and  free  churches  of  Great  Britain, 
and  of  all  the  churches  in  America,  abundantly  proves 
that  there  is  no  danger  of  interference  whatever  when 
both  the  Church  and  the  State  confine   themselves  to 

32 


498  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

their  respective  provinces.  The  persons  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  government  of  the  Church  are  also 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  government  of  the  State, 
but  the  ends,  the  laws,  the  methods  and  the  sanctions 
of  the  two  are  so  different  that  the  one  never  can  any 
more  interfere  with  the  other  than  waves  of  colour  can 
interfere  with  vibrations  of  sound. 

While  all  Christians,  with  the  exception  of  the  Eras- 
tians,  agree  with  the  two  principles  taught  in  this  Sec- 
tion as  thus  generally  stated,  they  differ  very  much  as 
to  the  human  agents  with  whom  Christ  has  deposited 
this  power,  and  whom  he  uses  as  his  instruments  in 
administering  it.  There  are  four  radically  different 
theories  on  this  subject: 

"  1st.  The  popish  theory,  which  assumes  that  Christ, 
the  apostles  and  believers  constituted  the  Church  while 
our  Saviour  was  on  earth,  and  this  organization  was 
designed  to  be  perpetual.  After  the  ascension  of  our 
Lord,  Peter  became  his  vicar,  and  took  his  place  as  the 
visible  head  of  the  Church.  This  primacy  of  Peter,  as 
the  universal  bishop,  is  continued  in  his  successors,  the 
bishops  of  Rome ;  and  the  apostleship  is  perpetuated  in 
the  order  of  prelates.  As  in  the  primitive  Church  no 
one  could  be  an  apostle  who  was  not  subject  to  Christ, 
so  now  no  one  can  be  a  prelate  who  is  not  subject  to  the 
pope.  And  as  then  no  one  could  be  a  Christian  who 
was  not  subject  to  Christ  and  the  apostles,  so  now  no 
one  can  be  a  Christian  who  is  not  subject  to  the  pope 
and  the  prelates.  This  is  the  Romish  theory  of  the 
Church.  A  vicar  of  Christ,  a  perpetual  college  of  apos- 
Jes,  and  the  people  subject  to  their  infallible  control. 

"2d.  The  prelatical  theory  assumes  the  perpetuity  of 


CHURCH    CENSURES.  499 

the  apostleship  as  the  governing  power  in  the  Church, 
which-  therefore  consists  of  those  who  profess  the  true 
religion  and  are  subject  to  apostle-bishops.  This  is  the 
Anglican  or  High-Church  form  of  this  theory.  In  its 
Low-Church  form,  the  prelatical  theory  simply  teaches 
that  there  was  originally  a  threefold  order  in  the  minis- 
try, and  that  there  should  be  now.  But  it  does  not 
affirm  that  mode  of  organization  to  be  essential. 

"  3d.  The  Independent  or  Congregational  theory  in- 
cludes two  principles :  first,  that  the  governing  and  ex- 
ecutive power  in  the  Church  is  in  the  brotherhood;  and 
secondly,  that  the  church  organization  is  complete  in 
each  worshipping  assembly,  which  is  independent  of 
every  other. 

"  4th.  The  fourth  theory  is  the  Presbyterian.  .  .  . 
This  includes  the  following  affirmative  statement :  (1.) 
The  people  have  a  right  to  a  substantive  part  in  the 
government  of  the  Church.  (2.)  Presbyters  who  labour 
in  word  and  doctrine  are  the  highest  permanent  officers 
of  the  Church,  and  all  belong  to  the  same  order.  (3.) 
The  outward  and  visible  Church  is,  or  should  be,  one, 
in  the  sense  that  a  smaller  part  is  subject  to  a  larger, 
and  a  larger  to  the  whole.  It  is  not  holding  one  oi* 
these  principles  that  makes  a  man  a  Presbyterian,  but 
his  holding  them  all."* 

Christ  has  in  fact  vested  all  ecclesiastical  power  in  the 
Church  as  a  whole,  none  of  its  members  being  excluded; 
yet  not  in  the  Church  as  a  mob,  but  as  an  organized 
body  consisting  of  members,  their  representatives  ruling 
elders,  and   ministers   or   bishops.     Elders   or   bishops 

*  "  What  is  Presby terianism  ?"  Kev.  C.  Hodge,  D.D. :  Pres.  Board 
of  Pub. 


500  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

wore  ordained  by  the  apostles,  have  always  continued 
in  the  Church,  and  were  designed  to  be  perpetuated  as 
the  highest  class  of  officers  in  the  Church.  1  Tim.  iii.  1  ; 
Eph.  iv.  11,  12.  All  Church  power  vests,  then,  jointly 
in  the  lay  and  clerical  element,  in  the  ministers  together 
with  the  people. 

"  Ruling  elders  are  properly  the  representatives 
of  the  people,  chosen  by  them  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
ercising government  and  discipline  in  conjunction  with 
pastors  or  ministers."*  "  The  powers,  therefore,  exercised 
by  our  ruling  elders  are  powers  which  belong  to  the  lay 
members  of  the  Church/'  "They  are  chosen  by  them  to 
act  in  their  name  in  the  government  of  the  Church. 
A  representative  is  one  chosen  by  others  to  do  in  their 
name  what  they  are  entitled  to  do  in  their  own  persons; 
or  rather  to  exercise  the  powers  which  radically  inhere 
in  those  for  whom  they  act.  The  members  of  a  State 
Legislature  or  of  Congress,  for  example,  can  exercise 
only  those  powers  which  are  inherent  in  the  people."f 

Section  II. — To  these  officers  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  are  committed;  by  virtue  whereof  they  have  power 
respectively  to  retain  and  remit  sins,  to  shut  that  kingdom 
against  the  impenitent,  both  by  the  Word  and  censures ;  and  to 
open  it  unto  penitent  sinners  by  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  and 
by  absolution  from  censures,  as  occasion  shall  require.2 

Section  III. — Church  censures  are  necessary  for  the  reclaim- 
ing and  gaining  of  offending  brethren :  for  deterring  of  others 
from  the  like  offences;  for  purging  out  of  that  leaven  which 
might  infect  the  whole  lump ;  for  vindicating  the  honour  of 
Christ  and  the  holy  profession  of  the  gospel,  and  for  preventing 
the  wrath  of  God,  which  might  justly  fall  upon  the  Church  if 

*  "Form  of  Government,"  chap,  iii.,  §  2;  chap.  v. 
f  "  What  is  Presbvterianism  ?"     Kev.  C.  Hodge,  D.D. 


CHURCH    CENSURES.  501 

they  should  suffer  his  covenant  and  the  seals  thereof  ti   he  pro- 
faned by  notorious  and  obstinate  offenders.3 

Section  IV. — For  the  better  attaining  of  these  ends,  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Church  are  to  proceed  by  admonition,  suspension  from 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  for  a  season,  and  by  excom- 
munication from  the  Church,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
crime  and  demerit  of  the  person.4 

2  Matt.  xvi.  19  ;  xviii.  17,  18 ;  John  xx.  21-23  ;  2  Cor.  ii.  6-8.— 3  1  Cor. 
v;  1  Tim.  v.  20;  Matt.  vii.  6;  1  Tim.  i.  20  ;  1  Cor.  xi.  27;  Jude  23.—  *  1 
Thess.  v.  12;  2  Thess.  iii.  6,  14,  15;  1  Cor.  v.  4,  5,  13;  Matt,  xviii.  17; 
Tit.  iii.  10. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  As  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  power  con- 
ferred upon  the  Church  of  admitting  and  excluding  from 
the  fold,  and  of  disciplining  its  members. 

2d.  As  to  the  ends  of  this  discipline. 

3d.  As  to  the  methods  through  which  it  should  be 
administered. 

All  Church  power  must  be  exercised  in  an  orderly 
manner  through  the  officers  spoken  of  above,  freely 
chosen  for  this  purpose  by  the  brethren  ;  and  it  re- 
lates— "  1.  To  matters  of  doctrine.  She  has  a  right  to 
set  forth  a  public  declaration  of  the  truths  winch  she 
believes,  and  which  are  to  be  acknowledged  by  all  who 
enter  her  communion.  That  is,  she  has  a  right  to  frame 
creeds  or  confessions  of  faith,  as  her  testimony  for  the 
truth  and  her  protest  against  error.  And  as  she  lias 
been  commissioned  to  teach  all  nations,  she  has  the  right 
of  selecting  teachers,  of  judging  of  their  fitness,  of 
ordaining  and  sending  them  forth  into  the  field,  and  of 
recalling  and  deposing  them  when  unfaithful.  2.  The 
Church  has  power  to  set  down  rules  for  the  ordering  of 
public  worship      3.  She  has   power   to   make  rule's  for 


602  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

her  own  government;  such  as  every  Church  has  in  its 
book  of  discipline,  constitution  or  canons,  etc.  4.  She 
has  power  to  receive  into  fellowship,  and  to  exclude  the 
unworthy  from  her  own  communion."  * 

This  last  power  is  commonly  styled  "the  power  of 
the  keys;"  i.  e.  of  opening  and  closing  the  doors  of  the 
Chuivh,  of  admitting  or  excluding  from  sealing  ordi- 
nances. Matt.  xvi.  19.  In  view  of  two  unquestionable 
facts — (a)  to  forgive  sin  is  an  incommunicable  attribute 
of  God  and  Christ;  (6)  God  has  given  to  no  class  of 
men  the  faculty  of  absolutely  discriminating  the  good 
from  the  bad — it  follows  that  the  Church  power  of  open- 
ing and  shutting,  of  binding  and  loosing,  spoken  of  in 
Matt.  xvi.  19  and  in  the  second  Section  of  this  Chapter, 
is  purely  ministerial  and  declarative.  Church  censures 
declare  simply  what  is,  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  church  officers  pronouncing  them,  the 
mind  and  will  of  Christ  in  the  case.  And  they  have 
direct  binding  effect  only  in  so  far  as  the  relations  of  the 
person  censured  to  the  visible  Church  is  concerned 
They  can  have  effect  upon  the  relations  of  the  censured 
to  God  and  to  Christ  only  in  so  far  as  they  represent 
the  will  of  Christ  in  the  case,  and  because  they  do. 

The  ends  of  Church  discipline  are  declared  to  be — 
(a.)  The  purity  of  the  Church,  and  hence  the  glory  and 
approbation  of  God.  (b.)  The  recovery  of  the  erring 
brother  himself,  (c.)  The  force  of  example  to  deter 
others  from  like  sin.  (d.)  The  exhibition  of  righteous- 
ness and  fidelity  to  principle  presented  to  the  world 
vithout. 

The  better  to  attain  all  these  ends,  for  which  the  dis?« 
*  "  What  is  Presbvterianisw?"     Rev.  C.  Hodge,  D.  D. 


CHURCH   CENSURES.  503 

cipline  is  intended,  the  church  officers  should — (1.)  Pro- 
ceed in  a  regular  order  to  administer  discipline,  using, 
according  to  their  character,  first  all  means  of  moral  re- 
clamation before  they  proceed  to  absolute  exclusion. 
The  proper  method  of  procedure,  under  all  circum- 
stances, is  plainly  stated  in  the  "Book  of  Discipline," 
which  forms  part  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  our 
Church.  The  successive  stages  of  discipline  there  un- 
folded are — (a)  private  admonition,  (6)  public  admoni- 
tion, (c)  suspension,  (d)  excommunication. 

(2.)  The  discipline  should  be  wisely  and  justly  pro- 
portioned "  to  the  nature  of  the  crime  and  demerit  of  the 
person." 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  point  involved  in  the  Erastian  doctrine  as 
to  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  State? 

2.  What  is  the  second  point  involved? 

3.  What  is  the  third? 

4.  What  is  the  first  point  in  opposition  to  this  heresy  taught  in 
the  first  Section  of  this  Chapter? 

5.  What  is  the  second  point  here  taught? 

6.  What  is  the  source  of  all  Church  power? 

7.  What,  then,  is  the  nature  of  all  Church  power  as  exercised  by 
human  agents? 

8.  What  has  been  the  ground  of  the  jealousy  with  which  tho 
independent  self-government  of  the  Church  has  always  been  re- 
garded in  Europe? 

9.  How  has  this  jealousy  been  shown  to  be  groundless? 

10.  Why,  and  upon  what  conditions,  is  there  no  danger  of 
interference  between  the  two  orders  of  government? 

1 1.  What  difference  of  opinion  has  prevailed  as  to  the  human 
agents  with  whom  Christ  has  vested  this  power? 

12.  State  the  main  elements  of  the  Popish  theory. 


504  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

13.  State  the  main  elements  of  the  Prelatical  theory. 

14.  Do  the  same  with  regard  to  the  Congregational  or  Inde 
pendent  theory. 

15.  Do  the  same  with  regard  to  the  Presbyterian  theory. 

16    What  are  the  two  orders  of  church  officers  to  whom  the 
government  of  the  Church  is  committed  ? 

17.  What  are  elders  or  bishops? 

18.  What  is  the  character  of  the  office  of  the  ruling  elders? 

19.  Whom  do  they  represent,  and  what  parties  exercise  their 
inherent  powers  through  them  ? 

20.  What  are  the  three  subjects  set  forth  in  the  second,  third 
and  fourth  Sections  ? 

21.  How  must  all  Church  power  be  exercised? 

22.  What  is  the^rs^  principal  province  of  Church  power? 

23.  What  is  the  second  province  ? 

24.  What  is  the  third  f 

25.  What  is  the  fourth? 

26.  What  is  the  power  of  discipline  called  ? 

27.  What  do  you  mean  by  saying  that  it  is  simply  ministerial 
and  declarative? 

28.  Prove  that  it  is  so. 

29.  State  what  are  the  several  ends  which  Church  discipline  is 
designed  to  effect. 

30.  What  is  the  first  thing  that  must  be  observed  in  the  due 
administration  of  discipline? 

31.  Where  are  the  rules  regulating  discipline  in  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  laid  down? 

32.  What  is  the  second  thing  that  must  be  observed? 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

OF   SYNODS   AND   COUNCILS. 

Section  I. — For  the  better  government  and  further  edification 
of  the  Church,  there  ought  to  be  such  assemblies  as  are  com- 
monly called  synods  or  councils  j1  and  it  belongeth  to  the  over- 
seers and  other  rulers  of  the  particular  churches,  by  virtue  of 
their  office  and  the  power  which  Christ  hath  given  them  for  edi- 
fication, and  not  for  destruction,  to  appoint  such  assemblies,2  and 
to  convene  together  in  them  as  often  as  they  shall  judge  it  expe- 
dient for  the  good  of  the  Church.3 

1  Acts  xv.  2,  4,  6.-2  Acts  xv.— 3  Acts  xv.  22,  23,  25. 

Ab  we  have  seen  in  the  last  Chapter,  all  Church 
power  is  vested  by  Christ  in  the  Church  as  a  whole,  not 
as  a  mob,  but  as  an  organized  body.  As  organized,  the 
Church  consists  of  presbyters  or  bishops  and  the  people, 
and  the  people  as  represented  by  lay  or  ruling  elders. 
This  necessarily  gives  origin  to  the  session  or  parochial 
presbytery,  consisting  of  the  bishop  or  pastor  and  the 
mling  elders  or  representatives  of  the  people.  In  this 
body  the  entire  ecclesiastical  power  of  the  whole  con- 
gregation is  vested.  It  admits  candidates  to  sealing 
ordinances,  exercises  pastoral  care  and  discipline  over 
the  members  and  provides  for  the  instruction  of  the 
flock  and  regulates  public  worship. 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  this  governing  power  vests 
with  the  rector.     In  the  Congregational  churches  it  is 

505 


506  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

exercised  immediately  by  the  whole  body  of  the  biothei- 
hood  in  person.  In  the  Presbyterian  Church  it  vests 
with  pastor  and  people — the  people,  however,  acting 
only  through  their  permanent  representatives,  the  ruling 
elders. 

But  the  third  great  principle  of  Presbyterianism,  as 
stated  in  the  preceding  Chapter,  is  that  the  whole 
Church  of  Christ  on  earth  "  is  one  in  such  a  sense  that 
a  smaller  part  is  subject  to  a  larger,  and  a  larger  to  the 
whole.  It  has  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism.  The 
principles  of  government  laid  down  in  the  Scriptures 
bind  the  whole  Church.  The  terms  of  admission  and 
the  legitimate  grounds  of  exclusion  are  everywhere  the 
same.  The  same  qualifications  are  everywhere  to  be 
demanded  for  admission  to  the  sacred  office,  and  the 
same  grounds  for  deposition.  Every  man  who  is  prop- 
erly received  as  a  member  of  a  particular  church  becomes 
A  member  of  the  Church  universal;  everyone  rightfully 
excluded  from  a  particular  church  is  excluded  from  the 
whole  Church  ;  every  one  rightfully  ordained  to  the 
ministry  in  one  church  is  a  minister  of  the  universal 
Church,  and  when  rightfully  deposed  in  one  he  ceases 
to  be  a  minister  in  any.  Hence,  while  every  particular 
church  has  a  right  to  manage  its  own  affairs  and  admin- 
ister its  own  discipline,  it  cannot  be  independent  and 
irresponsible  in  the  exercise  of  that  right.  As  its  mem- 
bers are  the  members  of  the  Church  universal,  and  those 
whom  it  excommunicates  are,  according  to  the  scriptural 
theory,  delivered  unto  Satan  and  cut  off  from  the  com- 
munion of  the  saints,  the  acts  of  a  particular  church 
become  the  acts  of  the  whole  Church,  and  therefore,  the 
whole  has  a  right  to  see  that  they  are  performed  accord- 


SYNODS   AND   COUNCILS.  507 

ing  to  the  law  of  Christ.  Hence,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
right  of  appeal,  and  on  the  other  the  right  of  review 
and  control."* 

The  principle  contained  in  the  above  statement  was 
certainly  acted  upon  in  the  apostolic  age,  and  it  has 
been  practically  recognized  and  acted  upon  with  more 
or  less  fidelity  in  all  branches  of  the  Christian  Church 
ever  since. 

"A  controversy  having  arisen  in  the  Church  at  An- 
tioch,  concerning  the  Mosaic  law,  instead  of  settling  it 
among  themselves  as  an  independent  body,  they  referred 
the  case  to  the  apostles  and  elders  at  Jerusalem,  and  there 
it  was  authoritatively  decided  (not  by  the  apostles  alone, 
but  'by  the  apostles  and  elders  and  the  whole  Church,' 
Acts  xv.  22) — not  for  that  church  (Antioch)  only,  but 
for  all  others.  Paul,  therefore,  in  his  next  missionary 
journey,  as  'he  passed  through  the  cities,  delivered  to 
them/  it  is  said,  '  the  decrees  for  to  keep,  which  were 
ordained  of  the  apostles  and  elders  which  were  at  Jeru- 
salem.' Acts  xvi.  4."f 

Hence,  in  carrying  these  principles  into  effect,  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (see  Book  I.  of 
Government),  provides  for  the  erection  and  operation  of 
a  regularly-graduated  series  of  ecclesiastical  councils. 

(1.)  Every  particular  congregation  is  governed,  as  we 
have  seen,  by  a  session  or  parochial  presbytery,  consist- 
ing of  its  pastor  and  the  ruling  elders  as  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people.  The  whole  govermental  power  of 
that  particular  church  vests  in  that  session,  and  all 
trials  for  the  discipline  of  any  of  its  members  must 
originate  there.  Its  decisions  are  final  with  respect  to 
*  "  What  id  Presbyterianism?"     Dr.  C.  Hodge.         f  Ibid. 


608  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

the  matters  subject  to  its  jurisdiction,  except  when,  after 
having  been  regularly  carried  up  by  appeal,  they  have 
been  reversed  by  a  superior  court. 

(2.)  There  is  the  classical  Presbytery,  which  consists 
of  all  the  pastors  or  bishops  and  the  churches  in  a  city 
or  neighbourhood  who  can  conveniently  meet  together 
and  unite  in  the  exercise  of  ecclesiastical  government. 
The  churches  appear  in  the  Presbytery  by  representa- 
tives from  the  sessions  of  particular  churches,  so  regu- 
lated that  the  number  of  lay  representatives  shall  exactly 
equal  the  number  of  pastors;  and  these  representatives 
of  the  people  in  all  respects  exercise  equal  power  with 
the  pastors.  All  the  powers  of  these  bodies  vest  in 
them  as  bodies,  and  not  in  the  members  severally. 
Whatever  they  are  competent  to  decide  or  to  execute, 
can  be  done  only  by  the  members  jointly  while  in  ses- 
sion, and  not  at  all  by  them  separately  or  even  jointly 
in  any  other  capacity.  Ordained  ministers  are  not 
members  of  particular  churches,  but  belong  in  the  first 
instance  tg  the  Presbytery.  The  Presbytery,  therefore, 
in  the  first  instance,  examines  and  decides  upon  the 
qualifications  of  candidates,  licenses  and  ordains  them, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  discipline  of  a  minister  the  pro- 
cess originates  in  the  Presbytery  to  which  alone  the 
pastor  is  directly  responsible.  A  licentiate  is  in  no 
sense  or  degree  a  minister.  He  is  purely  a  layman — 
L  e.,  a  private  member  of  a  particular  church — taken 
under  care  of  Presbytery  experimentally,  and  as  a  part 
of  his  trials  or  tests  temporarily  allowed  to  preach  be- 
fore the  people,  that  they  may  pass  their  final  judgment 
upon  his  qualifications  and  acceptability  as  a  candidate 
far  the  ministry. 


SYNODS    AND    COUNCILS.  509 

(3.)  Synods  are  only  large  Presbyteries,  consisting  of 
all  the  Presbyteries  in  full  of  a  province. 

(4.)  The  General  Assembly  of  the  whole  Church, 
which,  like  all  the  other  bodies,  consists  of  an  equal 
number  of  pastors  and  of  the  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple, of  necessity  is  composed  of  the  representatives  of 
the  constituent  Presbyteries,  instead  of  the  Presbyteries 
themselves  in  full. 

In  virtue  of  the  principle  of  appeal,  any  question 
rriginating  in  a  church  session,  or  any  other  subordinate 
court,  may  be  carried  up  in  succession  through  all  the 
series  to  the  General  Assembly,  whose  decisions  when 
once  made  are  final. 

In  virtue  of  the  principle  of  review  and  control, 
each  church  court  of  every  grade  above  a  church  ses- 
sion has  the  right  and  is  under  obligation  to  review 
"  the  records  of  the  proceedings  of  the  judicatory  next 
below,"  and  of  course  to  judge  of  those  proceedings,  and 
secure  their  correction  when  wrong.  And  each  court, 
including  the  church  session,  is  an  executive  as  well  as 
a  judicial  body,  and  therefore  has  an  inherent  right  of 
supervision  and  of  governmental  control  over  the  entire 
field  subject  to  their  jurisdiction.  Hence  a  superior 
judicatory,  in  default  of  the  proper  action  of  the  inferior 
judicatory  to  which  the  case  more  immediately  belongs, 
may  inaugurate  investigation  and  apply  discipline  im- 
mediately in  the  case  of  any  person  within  its  legiti- 
mate bounds. 

Section  II. — It  belongeth  to  synods  and  councils  ministerially 
to  determine  controversies  of  faith  and  cases  of  conscience  ;  to  set- 
down  rules  and  directions  for  the  better  ordering  of  the  public 
worship  of  God  and  government  of  his  Church  ;  to  receive  com- 


510  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

plaints  in  cases  of  maladministration,  and  authoritatively  to  de 
termine  the  same ;  which  decrees  and  determinations,  if  conso- 
nant to  the  word  of  God,  are  to  be  received  with  reverence  and 
submission  not  only  for  their  agreement  with  the  Word,  but  also 
for  the  power  whereby  they  are  made,  as  being  an  ordinance  of 
God,  appointed  thereunto  in  his  word.* 

Section  III. — All  synods  or  councils  since  the  apostles'  times, 
whether  general  or  particular,  may  err,  and  many  have  erred ; 
therefore  they  are  not  to  be  made  the  rule  of  faith  or  practice, 
but  to  be  used  as  a  help  in  both.5 

Section  IV. — Synods  and  councils  are  to  handle  nothing  but 
that  which  is  ecclesiastical ;  and  are  not  to  intermeddle  with  civil 
affairs  which  concern  the  commonwealth,  unless  by  way  of  hum- 
ble petition  in  cases  extraordinary ;  or  by  way  of  advice  for  satis- 
faction of  conscience,  if  they  be  thereunto  required  by  the  civil 
magistrate.6 

*  Acts  xv.  15,  19,  24,  27-31;  xvi.  4;  Matt,  xviii.  17-20.— 6Acts  xvii.  11; 
1  Cor.  ii.  5 ;  2  Cor.  i.  24;  Eph.  ii.  20.— 6  Luke  xii.  13,  14;  John  xviii.  36. 

'These  Sections  state — (1.)  The  different  subjects  which 
come  before  these  church  courts  for  decision.  (2.)  The 
grounds  upon  which,  and  the  conditions  under  which, 
their  decisions  are  to  be  regarded  as  requiring  submission, 
and  the  extent  to  which  that  submission  is  to  be  carried. 

1st.  Negatively.  Synods  and  councils  have  no  right 
whatever  to  intermeddle  with  any  affair  which  concerns 
the  commonwealth,  and  they  have  no  right  to  presume 
to  give  advice  to,  or  to  attempt  to,  influence  the  officers 
of  the  civil  government  in  their  action  as  civil  officers, 
except  (a)  in  extraordinary  cases,  where  the  interests  of 
the  Church  are  immediately  concerned,  by  the  way  of 
humble  petition,  or  (b)  by  way  of  advice  for  satis- 
faction of  conscience,  if  they  be  thereunto  required  by 
the  civil  magistrate. 

2d.  Negatively.     The  powers  of  synods  and  councils 


SYNODS    AND    COUNCILS.  511 

are  purely  ministerial  and  declarative ;  i.  e.y  relate  simply 
to  the  declaration  and  execution  of  the  will  of  Christ. 
They  are  therefore  wholly  judicial  and  executive,  and  in 
no  instance  legislative. 

3d.  Positively.  It  belongs  to  synods  and  councils  (a) 
at  proper  times  to  form  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith, 
and  to  adopt  a  constitution  for  the  government  of  the 
Church.  (6.)  To  determine  particular  controversies  of 
faith  and  cases  of  conscience,  (c.)  To  prescribe  regula- 
tions for  the  public  worship  of  God,  and  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church,  (d.)  To  take  up  and  issue  all  cases 
of  discipline,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  superior  courts,  to 
receive  appeals  and  complaints  in  all  cases  of  maladmin- 
istration in  the  case  of  individual  officers  or  subordinate 
courts,  and  authoritatively  to  determine  the  same. 

4th.  Positively.  While  ecclesiastical  courts  have  no 
right  to  handle  or  advise  upon  matters  which  belong  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  magistrate,  they,  on  the  other 
hand,  evidently  possess  an  inalienable  right  of  teaching 
church  members  their  duty  with  respect  to  the  civil 
powers,  and  of  enforcing  the  performance  of  it  as  a  re- 
ligious obligation.  "  The  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God.  .  .  .  Wherefore  ye  must  need  be  subject  not 
only  for  wrath,  but  also  for  conscience'  sake."  Rom.  xiii. 
1—7.  That  is,  obedience  to  the  civil  authorities  is  a  re- 
ligious duty,  and  may  be  taught  and  enforced  by  Church 
courts  upon  church  members. 

5th.  Negatively.  All  synods  and  councils  since  the 
apostles'  times,  whether  general  or  particular,  may  err, 
and  many  have  erred  ;  therefore  they  are  not  to  be  made 
the  rule  of  faith  or  practice ;  but  to  be  used  as  a  help  in 
both.     That  is,  these  synods  and  councils,  consisting  of 


512  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

uninspired  men,  have  no  power  to  bind  the  conscience, 
and  their  authority  cannot  exclude  the  right,  nor  excuse 
the  obligation,  of  private  judgment.  If  their  judgments 
are  unwise,  but  not  directly  opposed  to  the  will  of  God, 
the  private  member  should  submit  for  peace'  sake.  If 
their  decisions  are  opposed  plainly  to  the  word  of  God, 
the  private  member  should  disregard  them  and  take  the 
penalty. 

6th.  Positively.  But  in  every  case  in  which  the  de- 
crees of  these  ecclesiastical  courts  are  consonant  to  the 
word  of  God,  they  are  to  be  received  by  all  subject  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  said  court,  not  only  because  of  the 
fact  that  they  do  agreee  with  the  word  of  God,  but  also 
because  of  the  proper  authority  of  the  court  itself  as  a 
court  of  Jesus  Christ,  appointed  by  him,  and  therefore 
ministerially  representing  him  in  all  of  its  legitimate 
actions. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  In  whom  has  Christ  vested  all  Church  power? 

2.  Through  whose  agency  do  the  people  exercise  the  powers 
inherent  in  them  ? 

3.  To  what  body  does  this  necessarily  give  rise? 

4    In  whom  does  the  governing  power  in  each  congregation 
vest  according  to  the  Episcopal  system? 

5.  In  whom  does  this  power  vest  according  to  the  Congrega- 
tional system? 

6.  In  what  body  does  it  vest  according  to  the  Presbyterian 
system  ? 

7.  What  is  the  third  fundamental  principle  of  Presbyterianism, 
according  to  the  statement  made  under  the  last  Chapter? 

8.  In  what  sense  ought  the  unity  of  the  Church  to  be  ex> 
pressed  in  its  outward  organization? 


SYNODS    AND    COUNCILS.  513 

9.  Why  should  each  smaller  part  of  the  Church  be  subject  to 
a  larger,  and  each  larger  part  be  subject  to  the  whole? 

10.  Prove  that  this  principle  was  acted  on  in  the  apostolic 
age. 

1 1.  Prove  that  it  is,  with  greater  or  less  consistency,  acted  upon 
ia  all  churches. 

12.  What  is  the  lowest  church  court  according  to  the  Presby- 
terian system? 

13.  Of  what  members  does  the  church  session  consist,  arid 
what  are  its  functions? 

14.  Of  what  members  does  a  classical  Presbytery  consist,  and 
what  are  its  functions? 

15.  In  what  sense  are  all  the  powers  of  the  members  of  these 
church  courts  joint,  and  not  several? 

16.  To  which  body  does  a  minister  immediately  belong,  and  to 
which  is  he  immediately  responsible? 

17.  Which  body,  therefore,  judges  of  and  decides  upon  the 
qualifications  of  ministers  and  admits  them  to  or  deposes  them 
from  office? 

18.  What  is  the  precise  standing  of  licentiates? 

19.  Under  the  jurisdiction  of  what  body  do  licentiates  immedi- 
ately stand  as  professing  Christians? 

20.  Who  compose  a  provincial  Synod,  and  what  are  its  func- 
tions? 

21.  Who  compose  the  General  Assembly,  and  what  are  its 
functions? 

22.  To  what  extent  may  the  right  of  appeal  be  carried  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  present? 

23.  What  is  the  principle  of  "  review  and  control,"  and  how 
is  it  practically  carried  out  by  the  church  courts  ? 

24.  What  subjects  are  defined  in  the  second,  third  and  fourth 
Sections  of  this  Chapter? 

25.  What  rights  are  denied  synods  and  councils  with  respect  to 
matters  belonging  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  magistrate^ 

26.  What  exceptions  to  that  prohibition  are  made? 

27.  What  relations  do  all  church  courts  sustain  to  Christ,  and 
to  what  special  functions  must  their  governmental  agency  bo 
confined  ? 


514  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

28.  State  the  several  classes  of  matters  which  may  be  legiti- 
mately considered  and  determined  by  church  courts. 

29.  Prove  that  it  is  the  duty  of  church  courts  to  instruct  those 
under  their  jurisdiction  with  respect  to  the  duties  which  Chris- 
tians owe  to  the  civil  magistrate,  and  to  enforce  by  proper  eccle- 
siastical means  due  compliance. 

30.  What  do  our  standards  teach  with  regard  to  the  liability 
of  church  courts  to  err  ? 

31.  What  practical  consequent  follows  necessarily  from  that 
fact? 

32.  What  is  the  true  sphere  of  private  judgment  in  the  case  ? 

33.  What  should  the  Christian  do  in  case  the  decision  of  the 
council  be  unwise,  but  not  positively  opposed  to  the  revealed  will 
of  Christ? 

34.  What  is  he  to  do  in  case  the  decision  is  directly  opposed 
to  the  word  of  Christ? 

35.  Upon  what  grounds  does  every  Christian  owe  submission  to 
and  compliance  with  those  decisions  of  the  courts  of  God'a  houso 
which  are  consonant  to  his  word  ? 


CHAPTEE   XXXII. 

OF    THE    STATE    OF   MEN    AFTER    DEATH,    AND    OF    THE 
RESURRECTION    OF   THE    DEAD. 

Section  I. — The  bodies  of  men  after  death  return  to  .dust, 
and  see  corruption,1  but  their  souls  (which  neither  die  nor  sleep), 
having  an  immortal  subsistence,  immediately  return  to  God  who 
gave  them.2  The  souls  of  the  righteous,  being  then  made  perfect 
in  holiness,  are  received  into  the  highest  heavens,  where  they 
behold  the  face  of  God  in  light  and  glory,  waiting  for  the  full 
redemption  of  their  bodies  ;3  and  the  souls  of  the  wicked  are  cast 
into  hell,  where  they  remain  in  torments  and  utter  darkness,  re- 
served to  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.4  Besides  these  two 
places  for  souls  separated  from  their  bodies  the  Scripture  ac- 
knowledged none. 

1  Gen.  iii.  19;  Acts  xiii.  36. — 2  Luke  xxiii.  43;  Eccles.  xii.  7. — 8  Hcb. 
xii.  23;  2  Cor.  v-  1,  6,  8;  Phil.  i.  23;  Acts  iii.  21;  Eph.  iv.  10.—*  Luke 
xvi.  23,  24;  Acts  i.  25;  Jucle  6,  7 ;   1  Pet.  iii.  19. 

This  Section  teaches — 

1st.  That  man  consists  of  two  distinct  elements,  a 
bouI  and  a  body,  and  that  death  consists  in  their  tempo- 
rary separation. 

2d.  That  while  the  body  is  resolved  into  its  constitu- 
ent chemical  elements,  the  soul  of  the  believer  is  (a) 
immediately  made  perfect  in  holiness,  (6)  during  all  the 
intermediate  state  from  death  until  the  resurrection, 
continues  conscious,  active  and  happy,  and  (c)  is  in  the 

515 


516  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

presence  of  Christ,  who,  after  his  ascension,  has  sat  down 
at  the  right  hand  of  God. 

3d.  That  the  sonls  of  the  wicked  also  continue,  dur- 
ing this  intermediate  state,  conscious  and  active,  but  in 
a  state  of  penal  torment,  reserved  to  the  judgment  of 
the  great  day. 

4th.  These  conditions,  though  not  final,  are  irreversi- 
ble— i.  e.y  none  of  those  with  Christ  will  be  ever  lost, 
and  none  of  those  in  torment  will  be  ever  saved. 

5th.  The  Scriptures  afford  no  ground  whatever  for 
the  Romish  doctrine  that  there  are  other  places  or  con- 
ditions occupied  by  deceased  men  than  the  two  above 
mentioned. 

1st.  The  duality  of  human  nature,  as  consisting  of 
two  separable  elements — a  soul  and  a  body — having  dis- 
tinct and  independent  attributes  and  subsistence,  is 
taken  for  granted  and  constantly  implied  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture.  Thus  God  made  the  body  out  of 
the  dust  of  the  earth  and  breathed  into  it  the  breath  of 
life,  and  so  man  became  a  living  soul.  Gen.  ii.  7.  Christ 
bids  us  not  to  "  fear  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are 
not  able  to  kill  the  soul/'  Matt.  x.  28.  And  death  is 
defined  in  Eccles.  xii.  7,  a  dissolution  of  the  personal 
union  of  these  two  elements ;  for  "  then  shall  the  dust 
return  to  the  earth  as  it  was,  and  the  spirit  shall  return 
unto  God  who  gave  it."  In  like  manner  Paul  (2  Cor. 
v.  8  ;  Phil.  i.  22-24)  defines  it  as  a  departing,  a  being 
with  Christ,  a  ceasing  to  abide  in  the  flesh,  a  being 
absent  from  the  body  on  the  part  of  the  conscious  per- 
sonal soul. 

2d.  We  know  that  when  the  soul  leaves  it  the  body 
is  resolved  into  its   original  chemical  elements,   which 


STATE   OF   MEN    AFTER  DEATH — RESURRECTION.       517 

are  gradually  incorporated  with  the  shifting  currents  of 
matter  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The  Scriptures 
teach  us,  however,  that,  in  spite  of  this  flux  of  their 
material  constituents,  the  real  identity  of  our  bodies  is 
preserved,  and  that,  as  members  of  Christ,  all  that  is 
essential  to  them  will  be  ultimately  preserved  and 
brought  to  a  glorious  resurrection. 

As  to  the  condition  and  location  of  the  souls  of  men 
during  the  interval  which  elapses  between  the  death  of 
each  individual  and  the  general  and  simultaneous  resur- 
rection of  the  bodies  of  all,  what  the  Scriptures  teach 
us  may  be  summed  up  under  the  following  heads: 

(1.)   The  souls  of  both  believers  and  the  reprobate 

continue  after  death  conscious  and  active,  although  they 

remain  until  the  resurrection  separate  from  their  bodies. 

(2.)  The  souls  of  believers  are  at  their  death  made 

perfect  in  holiness. 

(3.)  The  souls  of  believers,  thus  perfected,  are  imme- 
diately introduced  into  the  presence  of  Christ  and  con- 
tinue to  enjoy  bright  revelations  of  God  and  the  society 
of  the  holy  angels. 

(4.)  The  souls  of  the  reprobate  are  at  once  introduced 
into  the  place  provided  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  and 
continue  in  unutterable  misery. 

(5.)  This  state  of  both  classes  admits  of  no  exchange 
or  transfer,  but  their  present  condition  is  the  commence- 
ment of  an  inevitable  progression  in  opposite  directions. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  intermediate  in  the  sense  (a)  that  fch»s 
persons  of  men  continue  incomplete  while  their  souls 
and  bodies  are  separate.  (6.)  That  neither  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  saved  nor  the  perdition  of  the  lost  has  yet 
reached  its  final  stage,     (c.)  That  possibly,  in  the  case 


518  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

of  the  last,  and  very  probably  in  the  case  of  the  re- 
deemed, the  localities  in  which  they  are  at  present  art 
not  the  same  as  those  in  which  they  are  to  dwell  per- 
manently after  the  final  award. 

(6.)  As  to  the  location  of  the  place  in  which  the  souls 
of  the  reprobate  suffer,  the  Scriptures  give  us  no  clue. 
In  Jude,  verse  7,  it  is  said,  "  The  angels  which  kept  not 
their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation,  he  hath 
reserved  in  everlasting  chains  under  darkness  unto  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day."  In  Matt.  xxv.  41,  the 
Judge  at  the  last  day  says  to  those  "  on  the  left  hand, 
Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  pre- 
pared for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  The  rich  man 
(Luke  xvi.  23)  lifted  up  his  eyes  in  hell,  being  in  tor- 
ment, while  his  brethren  were  still  alive  on  earth.  But 
where  these  places  are  situated,  and  whether  the  locality 
of  torment  now  is  identical  with  the  locality  of  torment 
after  the  judgment,  no  man  can  tell,  because  God  has 
not  revealed  it.  Of  course,  the  terms  "up"  or  "down," 
"  under  "  or  "  above,"  applied  to  such  a  subject,  must 
be  simply  metaphorical,  and  cannot  indicate  absolute 
direction  when  addressed  promiscuously  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  a  revolving  and  rotating  sphere. 

(7.)  As  to  the  location  of  the  place  where  the  re- 
deemed are  now  gathered,  absolutely  nothing  is  revealed, 
except  that  it  is  wherever  the  glorified  humanity  of 
Christ  is.  They  are  with  him,  and  behold  his  glory.  2 
Cor.  v.  1-8.  See,  also,  all  the  scenes  opened  in  the 
Apocalypse.  And  Christ  at  his  ascension,  sat  down  at 
"  the  right  hand  of  God,"  "  the  right  hand  of  the  Maj- 
esty on  high."  Mark  xvi.  19  ;  Rom.  viii.  34  ;  Heb.  l.  3; 
x.  12,  etc.     This  must  be  a  locality,  because,  the  human- 


STATE   OF   MEN   AFTER   DEATH — RESURRECTION.       519 

ity  of  Christ  being  finite,  his  presence  marks  a  definite 
place;  yet  the  phrase  "right  hand  of  God  "evidently 
marks  rather  the  condition  of  honour  and  power  to 
which  Christ  is  raised  as  mediatorial  King.  As  to  the 
location  of  the  place  in  which  Christ  and  his  glorified 
spouse  will  hold  their  central  home  throughout  eternity, 
a  strong  probability  is  raised  that  it  will  be  our  present 
earth,  first  burned  with  fire  and  then  gloriously  replen- 
ished. See  Rom.  viii.  19-23;  2  Pet.  iii.  5-13;  Rev. 
xxi.  1. 

The  proof  of  the  main  propositions  above  stated — viz. : 
that  the  intermediate  state  of  souls  is  one  of  conscious 
activity,  the  redeemed  being  perfectly  holy  and  happy 
with  Christ,  and  the  reprobate  being  with  the  devil  and 
his  angels  in  torment,  and  that  these  conditions  are  for 
ever  irreversible — can  be  better  presented  collectively 
than  distributively.  It  is  as  follows  :  The  reappear- 
ance of  Samuel  in  a  conscious  state,  in  the  use  of  all  his 
faculties,  at  the  call  of  Saul  and  the  witch  of  Endor 
(1  Sam.  xxviii.  7-20) ;  the  appearance  of  Moses  and 
Elias  at  the  transfiguration  of  Christ  on  the  mount 
(Matt.  xvii.  3);  Christ's  address  to  the  thief  on  the 
cross — "  To-day  thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  paradise" 
(Luke  xxiii.  43)  ;  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and 
Lazarus  (Luke  xvi.  23,  24)  :  Lazarus  is  conscious  and 
active  in  Abraham's  bosom;  the  rich  man  is  in  con- 
scious torment  in  hell  (Hades),  while  his  brethren  are 
still  living  in  the  flesh.  Of  dying  Stephen  it  is  de- 
clared (Acts  vii.  55-59)  that,  being  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  he  saw  the  heavens  opened,  and  Jesus  Christ 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  so  seeing  he  cried, 
"  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit!  and  so  died." 


520  CONFESSION    OF   FAITH. 

In  2  Cor.  v.  1-8,  Paul  declares  that  to  be  at  home 
in  the  body  is  to  be  absent  from  the  Lord ;  and  to  be 
absent  from  the  body  is  to  the  believer  to  be  present 
with  the  Lord;  and  hence  he  says  (in  Phil.  i.  21-24) 
that  for  him  to  die  is  gain,  and  that  he  was  in  "a  strait 
betwixt  two  ;  having  a  desire  to  depart  and  be  with 
Christ  which  is  far  better;  nevertheless  to  abide  in  the 
llesh  is  more  needful  far  you."  In  1  Thess.  v.  10,  Paul 
declares  that  the  sleep  of  death  is  "a  living  together 
with  Christ."  In  Eph.  iii.  15,  the  Church  is  declared 
to  be  one  whole  family,  of  which  at  present  part  is  in 
heaven  and  part  on  earth.  In  Heb.  vi.  12-20,  it  is 
declared  that  after  Abraham  (and  other  ancient  saints) 
had  patiently  endured,  "  he  obtained  the  promises ;" 
which  promises,  we  know,  were  in  their  true  meaning 
spiritual  and  heavenly.  In  Acts  i.  25,  Judas  is  said 
to  have  gone  to  his  own  place.  In  Jude  6,  7,  the  lost 
angels  are  said  to  be  reserved  in  everlasting  chains, 
under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  last  day, 
suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire.  In  Heb.  vii. 
23,  the  spirits  of  the  just  are  represented  as  made  per- 
fect and  happy  with  the  angels  in  heaven.  In  Rev.  vi. 
9-11,  the  souls  of  the  martyrs  are  represented  as  under 
the  altar  in  heaven,  praying  for  the  punishment  of  their 
former  persecutors  on  earth,  which  of  course  must  be 
before  the  resurrection.  In  Rev.  v.  9;  vii.  9;  xiv.  1,3, 
1  he  souls  of  believers  are  represented  as  being  now  with 
Christ  and  the  holy  angels. 

3d.  Our  Standards  declare  that  there  is  no  foundation 
whatever,  in  Scripture,  for  the  Romish  doctrine  as  to 
the  intermediate  state  of  deceased  men.  The  Papists 
oold  that  hades  or  the   under  world  embraces  several 


STATE   OF   MEN   AFTER   DEATH — RESURRECTION.      521 

distinct  regions,  to  which  different  classes  of  human 
souls  are  destined  :  (1.)  The  souls  of  unbaptized  infants 
go  to  the  "  Limbics  Infantum/'  where  they  remain  with- 
out suffering,  and  yet  without  the  vision  of  God.  (2.) 
Old  Testament  believers  were  gathered  in  the  "  Limbus 
Patrum,"  where,  without  suffering  and  yet  without  the 
vision  of  God,  they  remained  the  "spirits  in  prison" 
until  Christ,  during  the  three  days  he  continued  under 
the  power  of  death,  came  and  released  them.  1  Pet.  iii. 
19,  20.  (3.)  All  unbaptized  adults,  and  those  who  have 
subsequently  lost  the  grace  of  baptism,  and  die  unre- 
conciled to  the  Church,  go  immediately  to  the  perma- 
nent hell.  (4.)  All  Christians  who  have  attained  a 
state  of  Christian  perfection  go  immediately  to  heaven. 
(5.)  The  great  mass  of  partially-sanctified  Christians, 
dying  in  communion  with  the  Church,  still  cumbered 
with  imperfections,  go  to  purgatory.* 

Concerning  purgatory,  the  Council  of  Trent  teaches — 
(a.)  That  there  is  a  purifying  fire  through  which  im- 
perfect Christians  must  pass,  (b.)  That  souls  in  purga- 
tory may  be  benefited  by  the  prayers  and  masses  offered 
in  their  behalf  on  earth. f 

This  doctrine  is  false,  because  (1)  it  is  nowhere  taught 
in  Scripture.  (2.)  It  is  opposed  to  the  teaching  of 
Scripture  as  to  the  intermediate  state,  as  above  shown. 
(3.)  It  rests  upon  Antichristian  principles  as  to  the 
efficacy  of  the  atonement  of  Christ,  as  to  the  sin-expiat- 
ing and  soul-purifying  efficacy  of  temporary  suffering, 
as  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  and  as  to  prayers  for  the 
dead,  etc. 

*  Cat.  Rom.,  Pt.  I.,  ch.  vi. 
f  Council  of  TrQnt,  sess.  xxv. 


522  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

Section  II. — At  the  last  day,  such  as  are  found  alh  e  shall  not 
die,  but  be  changed  ;5  and  all  the  dead  shall  be  raised  up  with  the 
selfsame  bodies,  and  none  other,  although  with  different  quali- 
ties, which  shall  be  united  again  to  their  souls  for  ever.6 

Section  III. — The  bodies  of  the  unjust  shall,  by  the  power 
of  Christ,  be  raised  to  dishonour ;  the  bodies  of  the  just,  by  his 
Spirit,  unto  honour,  and  be  made  conformable  to  his  own  glorious 
body.7 

6  1  Thess.  iv.  17;  1  Cor.  xv.  51,  52.— 6  Job  xix.  26,  27;  1  Cor.  xv.  42- 
44.— t  Acts  xxiv.  15  ;  John  v.  28,  29;  1  Cor.  xv.  43  ;  Phil.  iii.  21. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  That  at  the  last  day  there  will  be  a  simulta- 
neous resurrection  of  all  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  of 
the  unjust. 

2d.  That  those  who  then  remain  living  on  the  earth 
shall  not  die,  but  be  changed. 

3d.  That  the  very  same  bodies  that  are  buried  in  the 
earth  shall  be  raised  and  reunited  to  their  souls,  their 
identity  preserved,  although  their  qualities  will  be 
changed. 

4th.  That  the  bodies  of  believers  shall  be  made  like 
Christ's  glorious  body — "a  spiritual  body." 

5th.  That  the  bodies  of  the  reprobate  shall  be  raised 
to  dishonour. 

1st.  At  the  last  day  there  will  be  a  simultaneous 
resurrection  of  all 'the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  the  un- 
just. "  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the 
earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to 
shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  Dan.  xii.  2.  "  Marvel 
not  at  this:  for  the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all 
who  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice  and  shall 
come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resur- 
rection of  life,  and  thev  that  have  done  evil   unto  the 


STATE   OF    MEN   AFTER   DEATH — RESURRECTION.       523 

resurrection  of  damnation."  John  v.  28,  29.  The  two 
classes  are  to  be  judged  simultaneously,  immediately 
after  their  resurrection  upon  the  second  coming  of  the 
Lord.  The  sheep  shall  stand  on  the  right  side  and  the 
goats  upon  the  left.  "  And  these  shall  go  away  into 
everlasting  pmishment,  and  the  righteous  into  life 
eternal."  Matt.  xxv.  31-46 ;  Rom.  ii.  6-16  ;  2  Tim.  i. 
6-10;  Rev.  xx.  11-15. 

2d.  Those  who  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  com- 
ing of  the  Lord  shall  not  outstrip  them  which  are  asleep. 
For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a 
shout,  with  the  voice  of  an  archangel  and  the  trump  of 
God;  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first:  then  we 
which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together 
with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air : 
and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord.  1  Thess.  iv.  15-17. 
"  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed  in 
a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump  : 
for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised 
incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  changed."  1  Cor.  xv. 
51,  52. 

3d.  The  very  same  bodies  that. are  buried  in  the  earth 
shall  be  raised  and  reunited  to  their  souls,  their  identity 
preserved,  although  their  qualities  are  changed.  This 
is  explicitly  declared  in  Scripture:  "Our  vile  body  is  to 
be  changed."  Phil.  iii.  21.  "  This  corruptible  is  to  put 
on  incorruption."  1  Cor.  xv.  53,  54.  "All  who  are  in 
their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth." 
John  v.  28.  "They  who  are  asleep,  .  .  .  the  deaa  in 
Christ  shall  rise."  1  Thess.  iv.  13-17.  Our  bodies  are 
now  members  of  Christ,  and  they  are  to  be  raised  in  a 
manner  analogous  to  his  resurrect  :on,  which  we  know 


621  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

to  have  been  of  his  identical  body,  by  the  print  of  the 
nails  and  of  the  spear.  It  was  seen  and  handled  for  the 
space  of  forty  days  in  order  to  establish  this  very  fact. 
Luke  xxiv.  39 ;  Acts  i.  3 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  4. 

There  are  many  changes  in  the  material  elements  and 
form  of  the  human  body  between  birth  and  death,  and 
yet  no  one  can  for  a  moment  doubt  that  the  body  re- 
mains one  and  the  same  throughout  all.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  believing,  upon  the  authority  of  God's  word, 
that,  in  spite  of  the  lapse  of  time  and  of  all  the  changes, 
whether  of  matter  or  of  form,  it  undergoes,  the  body  of 
the  resurrection  will  be  in  the  same  sense  and  to  the 
same  degree  one  with  the  body  of  death  as  the  body  of 
death  is  one  with  the  body  of  birth. 

4th.  These  changes  will  doubtless  be  very  great.  The 
body  of  the  believer  is  to  be  made  like  unto  Christ's 
glorious  body.  Phil.  iii.  21.  The  body  of  man  now  is 
"  an  animal  body  "  (1  Cor.  xv.  44),  unhappily  translated 
"a  natural  body."  It  is  suited  to  the  present  wants  of 
man,  to  his  present  stage  of  development,  intellectual, 
moral,  social  and  spiritual,  and  to  the  physical  conditions 
of  the  world  he  inhabits.  But  "  flesh  and  blood,"  bone, 
muscle  and  nerve,  "  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God; 
neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption."  1  Cor.  xv. 
50.  But  this  shall  be  "  changed."  Not  a  new  body 
substituted  for  the  old,  but  the  old  changed  into  the 
new.  As  the  seed  gives  birth  to  a  new  organism,  so  the 
corruptible  will  give  birth  to  the  incorruptible.  For 
u  there  is  an  animal  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body." 
The  spiritual  body  will  be  still  material  and  identical 
with  the  body  which  was  once  animal,  but  it  will  be 
suited  to  the  new  wants  of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 


STATE   OF   MEN    AFTER  DEATH — RESURRECTION.       525 

perfect — to  their  new  stage  of  development,  intellectual 
and  spiritual — to  their  social  relations,  and  to  the 
physical  conditions  of  the  "  new  heavens  and  the  new 
earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness."  2  Pet.  iii.  12, 13. 
5th.  The  bodies  of  the  reprobate  shall  be  raised  to 
dishonour.  "All  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  his 
voice,  and  shall  come  forth,  .  .  .  they  that  have  done 
evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation.  John  v.  5--29. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  Section? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught  ? 

3.  What  is  the  third  proposition  there  taught  ? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth? 

5.  What  is  the  fifth? 

6.  Prove  that  Scripture  takes  the  duality  of  human  nature  for 
granted. 

7.  How  do  they  define  death? 

8.  What  becomes  of  the  body  after  death? 

9.  What  do  the  Scriptures  reveal  on  the  subject? 

10.  What  great  change  is  wrought  in  the  souls  of  believers  im- 
mediately upon  their  death? 

11.  In  what  state  do  the  souls  both  of  believers  and  of  the 
reprobate  continue  between  death  and  the  resurrection? 

12.  What  is  taught  us  as  to  the  place  to  which  believers  go 
immediately  upon  death  ? 

13.  What  is  taught  us  as  to  the  place  to  which  the  reprobate 
are  introduced  after  death  ? 

14.  Will  the  conditions  of  either  of  these  classes  be  reversed  or 
interchanged  ? 

15.  In  ivhat  respect  are  these  states  not  final,  but  inter- 
mediate? 

16.  State  the  proof  given  in  Scripture  that  the  souls  of  be- 
lievers are  conscious,  active,  happy  and  with  Christ  between 
death  and  the  resurrection. 


526  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

17.  State  the  proof  that  the  souls  of  the  reprobate  are  con 
seious,  active,  in  torment  and  with  the  devils  in  hell  immediately 
after  death  ? 

18.  What  do  the  Scriptures  teach  as  to  the  absolute  location 
of  the  place  of  suffering  ? 

19.  What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  words  "up"  and  "down," 
"under"  and  "above,"  in  this  relation? 

20.  What  do  they  teach  as  to  the  present  location  in  which 
Christ  and  the  blessed  dead  are  gathered? 

21.  What  do  they  teach  as  to  the  future  locality  of  that  scene 
of  bliss  ?  and  state  the  passages  which  relate  to  the  subject. 

22.  What  does  the  Romish  Church  teach  as  to  the  Iambus 
Patrum  and  the  Iambus  Infantum? 

23.  Who  do  they  teach  go  immediately  to  hell,  and  who  imme- 
diately to  heaven  ? 

24.  What  do  they  teach  about  purgatory? 

25.  State  the  reasons  which  disprove  their  doctrine  upon  this 
subject? 

26.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  Sections  ii.  and  iii.  ? 

27.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

28.  What  is  the  third  proposition  ? 

29.  What  is  the  fourth  ? 

30.  What  is  the  fifth? 

31.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  the  resurrection  of  the  just  and 
of  the  unjust  will  be  simultaneous. 

32.  Prove  that  those  found  living  at  the  time  of  the  second 
coming  of  Christ  will  not  die,  but  will  be  "  changed." 

33.  Prove  from   Scripture  that  the  very  same  body  that  is 
placed  in  the  earth  shall  rise  again. 

34.  Prove  that  Christ  rose  with  the  very  same  body. 

35.  Prove  that  changes  as  to  the  form  and  as  to  the  material 
elements  of  the  body  do  not  impair  its  real  identity. 

36.  What  will  be  the  nature  of  the  resurrection  body? 

37.  Prove  that  it  will  be  made  like  Christ's  glorified  body. 

38.  What  is  meant  by  the  terms  "  natural  body  "  and  "spirit- 
ual body?" 

39.  Prove  that  the  bodies  of  the  reprobate  will  be  raised  to 
dishonour? 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

OF   THE   LAST   JUDGMENT. 

Section  I. — God  hath  appointed  a  day  wherein  he  will  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness  by  Jesus  Christ,1  to  whom  all  power 
and  judgment  is  given  of  the  Father.2  In  which  day  not  only 
the  apostate  angels  shall  be  judged,3  but  likewise  all  persons  that 
have  lived  upon  earth  shall  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  Christ, 
to  give  an  account  of  their  thoughts,  words  and  deeds,  and  to 
receive  according  to  what  they  have  'done  in  the  body,  whether 
good  or  evil.* 

Section  II. — The  end  of  God's  appointing  this  day  is  for  the 
manifestation  of  the  glory  of  his  mercy  in  the  eternal  salvation 
of  the  elect,  and  of  his  justice  in  the  damnation  of  the  reprobate, 
who  are  wicked  and  disobedient.  For  then  shall  the  righteous 
go  into  everlasting  life,  and  receive  that  fulness  of  joy  and  refresh- 
ing which  shall  come  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord ;  but  the 
wicked,  who  know  not  God,  and  obey  not  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  shall  be  cast  into  eternal  torments,  and  be  punished  with 
everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from 
the  glory  of  his  power.6 

1  Acts  xvii.  31.— 2  John  v.  22,  27.— 3  1  Cor.  vi.  3;  Jude  6;  2  Pet.  ii.  4.— 
*  2  Cor.  v.  10;  Eccles.  xii.  14;  Rom.  ii.  16;  xiv.  10,  12;  Matt.  xii.  36,  37  — 
»  Matt.  xxv.  31-46;  Rom.  ii.  5,  6;  ix.  22,  23;  Matt.  xxv.  21 ;  Acts  iii.  19, 
2  Thess.  i.  7-10. 

These  Sections  teach — 

1st.  That  God  has  appointed  a  day  of  general  judg- 
ment. 

2d.  That  he  has  committed  this  judgment  into  the 
hands  of  the  God-man  in  his  character  as  Mediator. 


528  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

3d.  That  the  persons  to  be  judged  include  apostate 
angels  and  the  whole  human  race,  good  and  bad. 

4th.  That  these  persons  are  to  be  judged  as  to  all 
their  thoughts,  words  and  deeds. 

5th.  That  the  great  end  of  God  in  the  appointment 
of  this  day  is  the  manifestation  of  his  glorious  justice  in 
the  condemnation  of  the  reprobate,  and  of  his  glorious 
grace  in  the  glorification  of  believers. 

6th.  That  the  righteous  are  to  be  awarded  admission 
to  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  which  is  to  be  consciously 
enjoyed  by  them  in  a  state  of  unending  holiness,  happi- 
ness and  honor. 

7th.  That  the  reprobate  are  to  be  awarded  a  place 
with  the  devil  and  his  angels,  to  be  endured  with  con- 
scious torment  and  shame  through  a  ceaseless  eternity. 

1st.  It  is  a  dictate  of  natural  reason  and  conscience 
that  in  some  way,  formally  or  informally,  severally  or 
collectively,  God  will  call  all  the  subjects  of  his  moral 
government  to  an  exact  account  for  their  character  and 
actions.  It  is  obvious,  as  the  author  of  the  seventy- 
third  Psalm  declares,  and  as  many  other  perplexed  souls 
have  thought,  that  justice  is  not  executed  upon  men  in 
this  world.  All  this  suggests  the  probability  that  God 
will  at  a  future  time  adjust  the  disturbed  balances  and 
call  all  men  to  a  strict  account.  This  presumption  of 
reason  and  conscience  is  confirmed  and  declared  to  be  a 
fact  in  the  word  of  God ;  and  the  additional  informa- 
tion is  conveyed  that  this  judgment  of  men  and  angels 
shall  be  general  and  simultaneous,  and  shall  be  con- 
ducted on  a  certain  predetermined  day  in  the  future. 
"  The  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at ;  but  now 
commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent;  because  he 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  529 

hath  appointed  a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained ; 
whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  to  all  men,  in  that  he 
hath  raised  him  from  the  dead."  Acts  xvii.  30,  31 ; 
Rom.  ii.  16  ;  Matt.  xxv.  31-46. 

2d.  The  Judge  on  this  great  occasion  is  to  be  not  God 
absolutely  considered,  but  the  God-man  in  his  office  as 
mediatorial  King.  All  judgment  is  said  to  be  not  in- 
herently his,  but  committed  to  him  by  the  Father.  John 
v.  22,  27.  As  Judge  he  is  called  the  "  Son  of  man" 
and  the  "  man  ordained  by  God."  Matt.  xxv.  31,  32 ; 
Acts  xvii.  31.  He  conducts  the  judgment  as  "the  King" 
and  as  Head  of  his  members  who  have  lived  on  earth. 
"  For  I  was  an  hungered  and  ye  gave  me  meat;  I  was 
thirsty  and  ye  gave  me  drink,  etc.  .  .  .  And  the  King 
shall  answer  and  say  unto  them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of 
these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  Matt. 
xxv.  35-40.  And  thus,  as  mediatorial  King,  he  will 
consummate  his  work  in  the  destruction  of  his  enemies, 
the  complete  redemption  of  his  friends,  and  "  the  resti- 
tution of  all  things."  2  Thess.  i.  7-10;  Rev.  i.  7;  Acts 
iii.  21. 

3d.  The  subjects  of  the  judgment  will  embrace  the 
entire  human  race  of  eve]';;  generation,  each  individual 
appearing  immediately  after  his  resurrection,  in  the 
completeness  of  his  reintegrated  person,  loth  soul  and 
body.  All  the  generations  of  the  dead  are  to  be  raised 
and  the  then  living  "changed."  "Before  him  shall  be 
gathered  all  nations."  "  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we 
must  all  be  changed  ;  .  .  .  the  trumpet  shall  sound, 
and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible,  and  we  shall 

34 


530  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

be  changed."  "We  must  all  appear  before  the  judg 
ment-seat  of  Christ,  that  every  one  may  receive  the 
things  done  in  his  body  according  to  that  he  hath  done, 
whether  it  be  good  or  bad/'  "And  I  saw  the  dead, 
small  and  great,  stand  before  God.  .  .  .  And  the  sea 
gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it;  and  death  and  hell 
(Hades)  delivered  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them  :  and 
they  were  judged,  every  man  according  to  his  works." 
Watt.  xxv.  31-46;  1  Cor.  xv.  51,  52;  2  Cor.  v.  10;  1 
Thess.  iv.  16;  Kev.  xx.  11-15.  All  evil  angels  are 
also  to  be  arraigned  in  this  judgment.  "The  angels 
which  kept  not  their  first  estate  ...  he  hath  reserved 
in  everlasting  chains,  under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment 
of  the  great  day."  Jude  6 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  4.  Good  angels 
will  be  concerned  in  it  as  attendants  and  ministers. 
Matt.  xiii.  41,  42;  2  Thess.  i.  7,  8. 

4th.  The  judgment  will  not  rest  upon  appearances, 
nor  testimony,  nor  any  partial  knowledge  of  the  facts, 
nor  upon  technical  grounds  of  law,  nor  specific  actions 
dissociated  from  the  state  of  the  heart  and  the  motives 
which  prompted  them.  The  heathen  who  has  sinned 
without  the  law  "shall  be  judged  without  the  law" — ■ 
that  is,  without  the  law  supernaturally  revealed,  but  by 
the  law  written  upon  the  heart,  which  made  him  a  law 
unto  himself.  Luke  xii.  47,  48;  Rom.  ii.  12-15.  The 
Jew  who  "sinned  in  the  law  shall  be  judged  by  the  law." 
Rom.  ii.  12.  Every  man  Avho  has  lived  under  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  gospel  shall  be  judged  by  the  gospel. 
Heb.  ii.  2,  3 ;  x.  28,  29.  We  are  told  not  to  judge 
according  to  the  appearance  (John  vii.  24),  and  there- 
fore to  "judge  nothing  before  the  time,  until  the  Lord 
come,  who  both  will  bring  to  light  the  hidden  thinga 


THE    LAST   JUDGMENT.  531 

of  darkness  and  will  make  manifest  the  counsels  of  the 
hearts."  1  Cor.  iv.  5;  Eccles.  xii.  14.  "There  is  noth- 
ing covered  that  shall  not  be  revealed,  neither  hid  that 
shall  not  be  known.  Therefore,  whatsoever  ye  have 
spoken  in  darkness  shall  be  heard  in  the  light,  and  that 
which  ye  have  spoken  in  the  ear  in  closets  shall  be  pro- 
claimed upon  the  housetops."  Luke  viii.  17;  xii.  2,  3; 
Mark  iv.  22.  This  shall  be  done  to  manifest  the  right- 
eousness of  God  in  the  condemnation  of  his  enemies, 
and  his  glorious  grace  in  the  sanctification  of  his  people. 

The  saints  will  not  be  acquitted  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment on  the  ground  of  their  own  good  deeds,  but  be- 
cause their  names  are  found  written  in  "  the  book  of 
life,"  or  the  book  of  God's  electing  love,  and  on  the 
ground  of  their  participation  in  the  righteousness  of 
Christ.  Their  good  deeds  will  be  publicly  cited  as  the 
evidences  of  their  union  with  Christ.  Their  union  with 
Christ  is  the  ground  of  their  justification.  Their  faith 
is  the  instrument  of  their  union  with  Christ ;  and  their 
faith,  as  the  Apostle  James  says,  is  shown  by  their  works. 
Phil.  iv.  3;  Rev.  iii.  5;  xiii.  8;  xx.  12,  15. 

5th.  The  great  end  of  God  in  this  public  unveiling 
of  secrets  and  manifestation  of  character  in  connection 
with  his  final  disposition  of  his  creatures  is  of  course 
the  manifestation  of  his  own  glorious  excellences  as 
moral  Governor  and  Redeemer.  The  redeemed  are 
for  ever  "vessels  of  his  mercy"  prepared  beforehand,  in 
order  that  in  them  might  be  "  made  known  the  riches 
of  his  glory."  And  the  reprobate  in  like  manner  are 
exhibited  as  the  "  vessels  of  wrath,"  to  show  his  right- 
eous wrath  and  make  his  power  known.  Rom.  ix.  22,  23. 
Tt  has  already  been  proved,  under  Chapter  iv.,  §  1,  that 


532  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

the  chief  end  of  God  in  the  original  creation  was 
the  manifestation  of  his  own  glorious  perfections.  If 
this  was  his  end  in  the  original  creation,  it  of  course 
must  be  so  in  every  subsequent  step  consequent  upon 
it. 

6th.  Immediately  upon  the  close  of  the  judgment,  the 
righteous,  being  honourably  acquitted,  are  to  be  awarded 
admission  to  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  with  whom  they 
are  ever  to  continue  in  a  state  of  conscious  and  exalted 
happiness,  excellence  and  honour  for  an  absolutely  un- 
ending eternity.  Of  the  blessed  estate  of  the  saints, 
the  Scriptures  teach — (1.)  Their  blessedness  flows  from 
their  perfect  freedom  from  sin,  and  from  their  being 
with  God  and  Christ,  and  their  sharing  the  glory  of 
Christ  as  joint  heirs  with  him.  John  xvii.  24;  Rom. 
viii.  17;  1  Thess.  iv.  17;  Rev.  xxi.  3.  (2.)  It  shall 
be  perfectly  free  from  all  evil  of  every  kind  (Rev.  xxi. 
4),  and  it  shall  involve  every  form  of  blessedness  in  an 
inconceivably  great  degree  (1  Cor.  ii.  9)  and  exalted  in 
kind  (Col.  i.  12).  (3.)  It  is  to  endure  for  an  absolutely 
unending  eternity.  It  is  called  "eternal  life"  and 
"everlasting  life,"  an  "eternal  weight  of  glory,"  "eter- 
nal salvation,"  an  "  everlasting  kingdom,"  an  "  eternal 
inheritance."  Matt.  xix.  16,  29 ;  xxv.  46 ;  Rom.  ii.  7  ; 
2  Cor.  iv.  17;  Heb.  v.  9 ;  2  Pet.  i.  11  ;  1  Pet.  i.  4; 
Heb.  ix.  15. 

From  such  passages  as  Rom.  viii.  19-23;  2  Pet.  iii. 
5-13,  and  Rev.  xxi.  1,  it  appears  not  improbable  that 
after  the  great  conflagration  of  the  earth  and  all  that  in- 
habits its  surface,  which  the  Scriptures  reveal  shall  ac- 
company the  judgment,  this  world  will  be  reconstituted, 
and  as  the  "  new  heaven  "  and  the  "  new  earth  "  be  glo 


THE   LAST    TtTBGMEKT.  533 

riously  adapted  to  be  the  permanent  residence  of  Christ 
and  his  Church. 

7th.  The  reprobate  will  be  immediately  conveyed  to 
the  place  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels  (Matt. 
xxv.  41),  and  are  there  to  continue  in  the  conscious  en- 
durance of  torment  and  shame  for  an  absolutely  unend- 
ing eternity. 

The  strongest  terms  which  the  Greek  language  affords 
are  employed  in  the  New  Testament  to  express  the  un- 
ending duration  of  the  penal  torments  of  the  lost.  The 
same  words  (deco^,  auoieoz  and  diSioq)  are  used  to  express 
the  eternal  existence  of  God  (1  Tim.  i.  17;  Rom.  i.  20; 
xvi.  26),  of  Christ  (Rev.  i.  18),of  the  Holy  Ghost  (Heb.ix. 
14),  and  the  endless  duration  of  the  happiness  of  the  saints 
(John  vi.  58  ;  Matt.  xix.  29  ;  Matt.  xxv.  46,  etc.,  etc.), 
and  the  endless  duration  of  the  sufferings  of  the  lost. 
Matt.  xxv.  46  ;  Jude  6.  Besides,  their  condition  is  con- 
stantly set  forth  by  such  terms  as,  the  "  fire  that  shall 
not  be  quenched,"  "fire  unquenchable,"  "the  worm  that 
never  dies,"  "  bottomless  pit,"  the  necessity  of  paying 
"the  uttermost  farthing,"  "the  smoke  of  their  torment 
ascending  up  for  ever  and  ever."  Luke  iii.  17;  Mark  ix. 
45,46;  Rev.  xiv.  10,  11.  Of  the  unpardonable  sin, 
Christ  says  that  it  shall  never  be  pardoned,  "  neither 
in  this  world  nor  in  that  which  is  to  come."  Matt, 
xii.  32. 

The  entire  Christian  Church,  Greek  and  Roman, 
Lutheran  and  Reformed,  have  agreed  in  holding  this 
truth  that  the  penal  sufferings  of  the  lost  are  to  last  for 
ever.  Certain  individuals  and  heretical  societies,  how- 
ever, have  denied  it,  and  substituted  in  its  place  one  or 
other  of  the  following  hypotheses  : 


534  CONFESSION   OF    FAITH. 

(1.)  That  the  "second  death  "  spoken  of  in  Rev.  xx. 
14,  to  which  the  wicked  shall  he  subjected  after  their 
condemnation  in  the  judgment,  involves  the  total  and 
absolute  destruction  of  their  being — i.  e.,  annihilation. 
But  the  Scriptures  always  consistently  speak  of  the  fu- 
ture of  the  lost  as  a  state  of  conscious  suffering  enduring 
forever.  The  "worm  dieth  not,"  "everlasting  fire," 
"  unquenchable  fire,"  "  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth," 
"  the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  and 
ever,  and  they  have  no  rest  day  nor  night." 

(2.)  The  other  hypothesis  supposes  that,  sooner  oi 
later,  God  will  secure  the  repentance  and  consequent 
reformation  and  restoration  of  all  sinners,  even  of  the 
devil  himself.  This  is  to  result  either  through  the  atoning 
and  purifying  efficacy  of  protracted  though  temporary 
suffering,  or  through  other  moral  influences  which  God 
will  bring  to  bear  upon  them  in  another  world.  But 
remember — (a.)  That  suffering  per  se,  while  it  may  ex- 
piate guilt,  has  no  tendency  to  purify  the  soul  from 
pollution  or  to  enkindle  spiritual  life.  (6.)  The  atone- 
ment of  Christ  and  the  sanctifying  power  of  his  Spirit 
are  the  only  appointed  means  of  bringing  men  to  repent- 
ance, and  indeed  the  highest  possible  means  to  that  end. 
In  the  case  of  the  reprobate  these  have  been  finally  re- 
jected, and  hence  "  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for 
sins,  but  a  certain  fearful  looking-for  of  judgment  and 
fiery  indignation,  which  shall  devour  the  adversaries." 
Heb.  vi.  26,  27.  (c.)  There  is  not  the  slightest  trace  in 
Scripture  of  such  an  ultimate  restoration,  either  in  the 
design  of  it,  or  the  means  of  it,  or  the  results  of  it.  On 
tfie  contrary,  as  we  have  seen,  the-  Scriptures  positively 
affirm  the  precise  reverse  to  be  true. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  535 

Section  III.— As  Christ  would  have  us  to  b:  certainly  per- 
suaded that  there  shall  be  a  day  of  judgment,  both  to  deter  all 
men  from  sin,  and  for  the  greater  consolation  of  the  godly  in 
their  adversity;6  so  will  he  have  that  day  unknown  to  men,  that 
they  may  shake  off  all  carnal  security,  and  be  always  watchful, 
because  they  know  not  at  what  hour  the  Lord  will  come;  and  may 
be  ever  prepared  to  say,  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly. 
Amen.7 

«2  Pet.  iii.  11,  14;  2  Cor.  v.  10,  11;  2  Thess.  i.  5-7;  Luke  xxi.  27,  28; 
Rom.  viii.  23-25.— 7  Matt.  xxiv.  36,  42-44  ;  Mark  xiii.  35-37;  Luke  xii.  35, 
36;  Rev.  xxii.  20. 

This  Section  teaches — 

1st.  That  God  has  made  the  fact  absolutely  certain  that 
there  will  be  a  future  judgment,  in  order  that  this  know- 
ledge may  act  upon  all  men  as  a  wholesome  motive  deter- 
ring them  from  sin,  and,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  may 
console  the  godly  in  the  midst  of  their  adversity.  With 
reference  to  the  first  object,  Paul  says,  "  We  must  all  ap- 
pear before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ;  that  every  one 
may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to 
that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad.  Know- 
ing, therefore,  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade  men." 
2  Cor.  v.  10,  11.  And  Peter  says,  "Seeing,  then,  that 
all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  per- 
sons ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godli- 
ness, looking  for  and  hastening  unto  the  coming  of  the 
day  of  God?"  2  Pet.  iii.  12.  With  reference  to  the 
second  object,  Paul  says,  "  Seeing  it  is  a  righteous  thing 
with  God  to  recompense  tribulation  to  them  that  trouble 
you  ;  and  to  you  that  are  troubled,  rest  with  us,  when 
the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his 
mighty  angels."  2  Thess.  i.  7. 

2d.  That  on  the  other  hand,  God  has  left  uo  in  abso- 


536  CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

lute  uncertainty  with  respect  to  the  time  at  which  tin? 
great  event  shall  occur,  in  order  to  prevent  carnal  se- 
curity and  to  keep  his  people  ever  on  the  alert  and  con- 
stantly prepared.  That  the  time  is  intentionally  left 
unknown  is  expressly  affirmed  again  and  again  in  Scrip- 
ture: "But  of  that  day  and  that  hour  knoweth  no 
man  ;  no,  not  the  angels  which  are  in  heaven,  neither 
the  Son,  but  the  Father."  Mark  xiii.  32 ;  Matt.  xxiv. 
36.  "  Be  ye,  therefore,  ready  also  ;  for  the  Son  of  man 
cometh  at  an  hour  when  ye  think  not."  Luke  xii.  40. 
"  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or  the  seasons 
which  the  Father  has  put  in  his  own  power."  Acts  i.  7. 
"  The  day  of  the  Lord  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night." 
1  Thess.  i.  2;  2  Pet.  iii.  10.  "Behold  I  come  as  a 
thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth  and  keepeth  his 
garments."  Rev.  xvi.  15. 

The  designed  effect  of  the  attitude  of  uncertainty 
with  regard  to  the  time  of  the  second  advent  and  general 
judgment  in  which  the  saints  are  placed  is,  that  they 
should  regard  it  as  always  immediately  impending;  that 
they  should  look  forward  to  it  with  solemn  awe,  and  yet 
with  joyful  confidence;  and  hence  in  view  of  it,  be  incited 
to  the  performance  of  duty  and  the  attainment  of  holi- 
ness, and  comforted  in  sorrow.  Phil.  iii.  20;  Col.  iii. 
4,  5;  James  v.  7.  It  is  their  duty  also  to  love,  watch, 
wait  for  and  hasten  unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord.  Luke 
xii.  35-37  ;  1  Cor.  i.  7,  8 ;  1  Thess.  i.  9,  10;  2  Tin  .  iv. 
8;  2  Pet.  iii.  12;  Rev.  xxii.  20. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  537 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  is  the  first  proposition  taught  in  the  first  and  second 
Sections  of  this  Chapter  ? 

2.  What  is  the  second  proposition  there  taught? 

3.  What  is  the  third  proposition  there  taught? 

4.  What  is  the  fourth  proposition? 

5.  What  is  the //tfi? 

6.  What  is  the  sixth  f 

7.  What  is  the  seventh? 

8.  Show  that  reason  and  conscience  lead  us  to  anticipate  a 
future  judgment  as  highly  probable. 

9.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  God  has  appointed  a  certain 
fixed  da}7  for  the  general  judgment  of  men  and  angels. 

10.  Who  is  to  be  the  Judge,  and  in  what  character? 

11.  Prove  the  above  answer. 

12.  Who  are  to  be  the  subjects  of  the  judgment? 

1 3.  Prove  your  answer. 

14.  How  are  good  angels  to  be  concerned  in  the  transaction? 

1 5.  By  what  law  are  men  to  be  judged  ? 

16.  How  fir  is  the  investigation  and  judgment  of  that  day  to 
extend? — to  overt  actions  only,  or  also  to  motives,  feelings  and 
thoughts? 

17.  Prove  your  answer. 

18.  Upon  what  ground  will  the  saints  be  acquitted? 

19.  What  is  the  "book  of  life?" 

20.  What  is  O-od's  great  end  in  his  dealings  with  the  repro- 
bate and  in  his  dealings  with  his  saints? 

21 .  Prove  your  answer. 

22.  Where  are  the  righteous  to  go  immediately  after  the  judg- 
ment. 

23.  Prove  that  they  are  ever  to  be  with  Christ. 

24.  What  is  to  be  the  character  and  degree  of  their  blessed- 
less? 

25.  Prove  that  it  is  to  endure  for  ever. 

26.  Where  is  it  probable  Christ  and  his  people  will  be  finally 
located  ? 


538  CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

27.  Prove  that  immediately  after  death  the  reprobate  are  to 
go  to  the  place  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 

28.  Prove  that  the  same  words  are  used  to  express  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  conscious  sufferings  of  the  lost  that  are  used  to 
express  the  eternity  of  God  or  the  everlasting  happiness  of  the 
saints. 

29.  State  other  scriptural  proof  that  the  condition  of  the  lost 
is  to  be  that  of  conscious  suffering  and  shame  for  an  absolutely 
unending  eternity. 

30.  How  generally  has  this  doctrine  been  held  in  the  Church? 

31.  State  the  opposing  hypothesis  of  annihilation. 

32.  Disprove  it. 

33.  State  the  opposing  hypothesis  of  restitution. 

34.  Disprove  it. 

35.  For  what  purpose  has  God  made  known  the  certain  fact 
of  a  future  judgment? 

36.  Illustrate  the  truth  of  your  answer  by  passages  of  Scripture. 

37.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  the  time  of  the  future  judg- 
ment is  intentionally  left  unrevealed. 

38.  For  what  purpose  are  men  left  uncertain  on  this  subject? 

39.  How  should  believers  regard  that  day?  how  should  it* 
constant  pendency  effect  them  ?  and  how  should  they  look  for- 
ward to  it? 


APPENDIX  I. 


In  the  debates  which  preceded  the  reunion  of  the  two  branches 
of  the  American  Presbyterian  Church  in  1870,  Dr.  Charles  Hodge 
represented  the  Old  School  branch  in  the  Biblical  Repertory  and 
Princeton  Review,  and  Dr.  Henry  B.  Smith  represented  the  New  School 
branch  in  the  American  Theological  Review.  It  is  a  significant  fact 
that,  while  the  discussion  began  in  the  form  of  attack  and  defence,  it 
resulted  in  the  discovery  that  these  truly  representative  men  held 
precisely  identical  opinions  as  to  the  historical  meaning  and  consti- 
tutional force  of  the  formula  of  subscription  to  which  all  ministers 
and  elders  must  assent  as  the  condition  of  their  ordination.  In 
support  of  this  they  mutually  cite  the  history  and  pledge  the  faith 
of  their  respective  denominations  pending  the  solemn  covenants  im- 
plied in  reunion. 

Dr.  Hodge  discussed  this  subject  and  denned  the  position  of  his 
branch  of  the  Church  in  articles  printed  October,  1831,  and  October, 
1858,  and  July,  1867.  He  says:*  "The  two  principles  which  by 
common  consent  of  all  honest  men  determine  the  interpretation  of 
oaths  and  professions  of  faith  are,  first,  the  plain,  historical  meaning 
of  the  words;  and  secondly,  the  animus  imponentis— -that  is,  the  in- 
tention of  the  party  imposing  the  oath  or  requiring  the  profession. 
The  words,  therefore,  'system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Script- 
ures,' are  to  be  taken  in  their  plain  historical  sense."  "  Again,  by 
the  animus  imponentis,  in  the  case  contemplated,  is  to  be  understood, 
not  the  mind  or  intention  of  the  ordaining  Presbytery.  It  is  the 
mind  or  intention  of  the  Church,  of  which  the  Presbytery  is  the 
organ." 

The  question,  however,  is,  What  is  the  true  sense  of  the  phrase 
"system  of  doctrine"  in  our  ordination  service?  or  what  does  the 
Church  understand  the  candidate  to  profess  when  he  says  that  "  he 
receives  and  adopts  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  this  Church  as  con- 
taining the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scripture"? 
There  are  three  different  answers  given  to  that  question: 

"I.  It  is  said  by  some  that  in  adopting  'the  system  of  doctrine' 
the  candidate  is  understood  to  adopt  it,  not  in  the  form  or  manner  in 
which  it  is  presented  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  but  only  for  'sub- 
stance of  doctrine' — '  that  by  the  system  contained  in  the  Confession 
is  meant  the  essential  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  nothing  more.' f 
The  objection  to  this  interpretation  is  that— 
*  Princeton  Review,  October,  1858.  +Jbid.,  July.  1867. 

5.39 


540  APPENDIX   I. 


"(1)  It  is  not  the  meaning  of  the  words  employed.  The  two 
declarations,  '  I  adopt  the  system  of  doctrine  contained  in  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith/  and  '  I  adopt  the  system  for  substance  of  doc- 
trine,' are  not  identical.     The  one  cannot,  therefore,  be  substituted 

for  the  other In  adopting  a  system  of  doctrine  the  candidate 

adopts  a  series  of  doctrines  in  the  specific  form  in  which  they  are 
presented  in  that  system.  The  phrase  '  for  substance  of  doctrine '  is 
ambiguous;  the  phrase  'system  of  doctrine'  has  a  definite  sense. 
The  system  of  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  churches  is  a  known  and 
admitted  scheme  of  doctrine,  and  that  scheme,  and  nothing  more  or 
less,  we  profess  to  adopt. 

"  (2)  The  second  objection  to  this  view  is  that  it  is  contrary  to  the 
mind  of  the  Church.  That  mind,  on  this  point,  is  rendered  clear 
beyond  dispute  by  her  repeated  official  declarations  on  the  subject. 
The  famous  adopting  act  of  the  original  Synod,  passed  in  1729,  is  in 
these  words :  '  Although  the  Synod  do  not  claim  or  pretend  to  any 
authority  of  imposing  our  faith  on  other  men's  consciences,  but  do 
profess  our  just  dissatisfaction  with  and  abhorrence  of  such  imposi- 
tions, and  do  utterly  disclaim  all  legislative  power  and  authority  in 
the  Church,  being  willing  to  receive  one  another,  as  Christ  has  re- 
ceived us,  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  admit  to  fellowship  in  sacred 
ordinances  all  such  as  we  have  grounds  to  believe  Christ  will  at  last 
admit  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven, — yet  we  are  undoubtedly  obliged 
to  take  care  that  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  be  kept  pure 
and  uncorrupt  among  us,  and  so  handed  down  to  our  posterity ;  and 
do  therefore  agree  that  all  ministers  of  this  Synod  shall  declare 
their  agreement  in  and  approbation  of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  with 
the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  of  the  Assembly  of  Divines  in 
Westminster,  as  being,  in  all  the  essentials  and  necessary  articles, 
good  forms  of  sound  words  and  systems  of  Christian  doctrine,  and 
do  also  adopt  the  said  Confession  and  Catechisms  as  the  confession 
of  our  faith.  And  we  do  also  agree  that  all  Presbyteries  within  our 
bounds  shall  always  take  care  not  to  admit  any  candidate  of  the 
ministry  iuto  the  exercise  of  the  sacred  functions,  but  what  declares 
his  agreement  in  opinion  with  all  the  essential  and  necessary  articles 
of  said  Confession,  either  by  subscribing  said  Confession  and  Cate- 
chisms, or  by  a  verbal  declaration  of  their  assent  thereto,  as  such 
minister  or  candidate  shall  think  best.  And  in  case  any  minister  of 
this  Synod,  or  any  candidate  for  the  ministry,  shall  have  any  scruple 
with  respect  to  any  article  or  articles  of  said  Confession  or  Cate- 
chisms, he  shall,  at  the  time  of  making  said  declaration,  declare  his 
sentiments  to  the  Presbytery  or  Synod,  who  shall,  notwithstanding, 
admit  him  to  the  exercise  of  the  ministry  within  our  bounds,  and  to 
ministerial  communion,  if  the  Synod  or  Presbytery  shall  judge  his 
scruple  or  mistake  to  be  only  about  articles  not  essential  or  necessnry 
in  doctrine,  worship,  or  government.  But  if  the  Synod  or  Presbytery 
shall  judge  such  ministers  or  candidate  erroneous  in  essential  and 
necessary  articles  of  faith,  ihe  Synod  or  Presbytery  shall  declare 
them  incapable  of  communion  with  them.  And  the  Synod  do  sol- 
emnly agree  that  none  of  them  Avill  traduce  or  use  any  opprobrious 
terms  of  those  who  differ  from  us  in  extra-essential  and  not  necessary 


APPENDTX    I.  541 

points  of  doctrine,  but  treat  them  with  the  same  friendship,  kindness, 
and  brotherly  love  as  if  they  did  not  differ  in  sentiment.' 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  the  above  act  was  adopted, 
the  following  minute  was  recorded — viz. : 

" '  All  the  ministers  of  this  Synod  now  present,  except  one,  that 
declared  himself  not  prepared,  ....  after  proposing  all  the  scruples 
that  any  of  them  had  to  make  against  any  articles  and  expressions 
in  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  of  the 
Assembly  of  Divines  at  Westminster,  have  unanimously  agreed  in 
the  solution  of  those  scruples,  and  in  declaring  the  said  Confession 
and  Catechisms  to  be  the  confession  of  their  faith,  excepting  only 
some  clauses  in  the  twentieth  and  twenty-third  chapters,  concerning 
which  clauses  the  Synod  do  unanimously  declare  that  they  do  not 
receive  those  articles  in  such  sense  as  to  suppose  that  the  civil  magis- 
trate hath  a  controlling  power  over  Synods  with  respect  to  the  exer- 
cise of  their  ministerial  authority  or  power  to  persecute  any  for  their 
religion,  or  in  any  sense  contrary  to  the  Protestant  succession  to  the 
throne  of  Great  Britain. 

" '  The  Synod,  observing  that  unanimity,  peace,  and  unity  which 
appeared  in  all  their  consultations  relating  to  the  affair  of  the  Con- 
fession, did  unanimously  agree  in  giving  thanks  to  God  in  solemn 
prayer  and  praises.' 

"  This  important  document  teaches,  first,  that  in  our  Church  the 
terms  of  Christian  communion  are  competent  knowledge  and  a 
credible  profession  of  faith  and  repentance ;  second,  that  the  condi- 
tion of  ministerial  communion  is  the  adoption  of  the  system  of  doc- 
trine contained  in  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  and  Cate- 
chisms ;  third,  that  the  only  exceptions  alloAved  to  be  taken  were 
such  as  related  to  matters  outside  that  system  of  doctrine,  and  the 
rejection  of  which  left  that  system  in  its  integrity. 

"  In  1730  the  Synod  declared  '  that  they  understand  those  clauses 
that  respect  the  admission  of  intrants  or  candidates  in  such  sense  as 
to  oblige  them  to  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession  and  Catechisms 
at  their  admission,  in  the  same  manner,  and  as  fully  as  the  members 
of  the  Synod  did,  who  were  then  present.'  In  1736  the  Synod  again 
says :  '  The  Synod  has  adopted,  and  still  do  adhere  to,  the  West- 
minster Confession  and  Catechisms  and  Directory,  without  variation 
or  alteration ;  .  .  .  .  and  they  further  declare  that  this  was  our 
meaning  and  true  intent  in  our  first  adopting  of  said  Confession.' 

'•  When  the  two  Synods  (Old  Light  and  New  Light)  were  reunited 
in  1758,  the  first  article  of  the  terms  of  union  was  as  follows-'  '  Both 
Synods  having  always  approved  and  received  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession, Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms,  as  an  orthodox  and  excellent 
system  of  doctrine,  founded  on  the  Word  of  God,  we  do  still  receive 
the  same  as  the  confession  of  our  faith,  and  also  adhere  to  the  plan  of 
worship  and  government  and  discipline  contained  in  the  Westminster 
Directory,  strictly  enjoining  it  on  all  our  ministers  and  probationers 
for  the  ministry  that  they  preach  and  teach  according  to  the  form 
of  sound  words  in  the  said  Confession  and  Catechisms,  and  avoid  and 
oppose  all  errors  contrary  thereto.' 

"  (3)  The  third  argument  against  this  interpretation  of  the  ordi- 


542  APPENDIX    I. 


nation  formula  is  that  the  phrase  'substance  of  doctrine'  has  no 
definite  assignable  meaning. 

"  (4)  The  fourth  argument  against  it  is  that  this  system  has  been 
tried  and  found  to  produce  the  greatest  disorder  and  confusion. 

"  II.  The  second  interpretation  of  the  question  presented  at  ordi- 
nation is  that  the  person  who  answers  that  question  in  the  affirmative 
does  thereby  profess  to  receive  and  adopt  every  proposition  contained 
in  that  Confession  as  a  part  of  his  own  faith. 

"  The  objections  to  this  view  are : 

"  (1)  It  is  contrary  to  the  plain  historical  meaning  of  the  words. 

"(2)  It  is  contrary  to  the  animus  imponentis,  or  mind  of  the 
Church."  [This  also  Dr.  Hodge  proves  by  the  history  of  the 
events  attending  the  original  adoption  of  the  Confession.] 

"  (3)  This  principle  is  impracticable.  It  cannot  be  carried  out 
without  working  the  certain  and  immediate  ruin  of  the  Church. 
Our  Confession  is  a  large  book  ;  besides  the  system  of  doctrine  com- 
mon to  all  Reformed  churches,  it  contains  deliverances  on  many 
other  topics  relating  to  Church  and  State  and  to  our  social  relations. 

"  (4)  The  office  of  the  Church  is  purely  ministerial,  and  should 
be  exercised  cautiously  and  humbly.  She  has  no  more  right  unduly 
to  lower  or  to  raise  unduly  the  evidence  which  she  demands  of  a 
vocation  to  the  ministry  than  she  has  to  alter  the  evidence  of  a  call 
to  grace  and  salvation. 

"  (5)  There  is  another  great  evil  connected  with  these  inordinate 
demands.  To  adopt  every  proposition  contained  in  the  Westminster 
Confession  and  Catechisms  is  more  than  the  vast  majority  of  our  min- 
isters either  do  or  can  do.  To  make  them  profess  to  do  it  is  a  great 
sin.  It  hurts  their  conscience.  It  fosters  a  spirit  of  evasion  and 
subterfuge. 

"III.  The  third  interpretation  of  the  formula  prescribed  for  the 
adoption  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  is  the  true  via  media.  The 
"Westminster  Confession  contains  three  distinct  classes  of  doctrines : 
first,  those  common  to  all  Christians ;  second,  those  common  to  all 
Protestants,  and  by  which  they  are  distinguished  from  Romanists ; 
thirdly,  those  which  are  peculiar  to  the  Reformed  churches,  by 
which  they  are  distinguished  on  the  one  hand  from  Lutherans,  and 
on  the  other  from  the  Arminians  and  other  sects  of  later  historical 
origin."  [All  these  classes  of  doctrines  we  profess  to  believe,  us  far 
as  they  constitute  a  "system  of  doctrine" — i.e.  we  profess  to  be 
Christians ;  more  definitely,  to  be  Protestants ;  more  tlelinitely  yet, 
to  be  Calvinists.] 

"  (1)  The  first  argument  in  favor  of  this  interpetation  of  our  ordi- 
nation service  is  that  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  literal  meaning  of 
the  words;  (2)  that  it  corresponds  with  the  known  intention  of  the 
Church  in  requiring  the  adoption  of  the  Confession  "  [this  Dr.  Hodge 
had  already  proved  to  be  the  fact  by  historical  evidence]  ;  "  (3)  it  is 
the  only  interpretation  consistent  with  a  good  conscience,  and  with 
the  peace  and  union  of  the  Church." 

In  the  October  number  of  the  American  Theological  Revieiv,  1867, 
Dr.  Henry  B.  Smith  says: 

"  No  declaration  of  the  New  School  as  a  body,  nor  of  those  con- 


APPENDIX    I.  543 


sidered  as  its  representatives,  could  be,  or  was,  cited  in  favor  of  such 
a  loose  phrase  as  '  substance  of  doctrine,'  and  by  many  New  School 
men  it  was  publicly  and  definitely  denied.  We  agreed  to  the  'sys- 
tem-of-doctrine '  view,  and  agreed,  also,  in  condemning  the  '  every- 
proposition  theory '  as  inconsistent  with  the  plain  terms  of  the  adopt- 
ing act,  and  with  the  uniform  practice  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
We  disallow  the  phrase  '  substance  of  doctrine,'  because  it  is  indefi- 
nite, easily  misunderstood,  and  does  not  suggest  the  right  theory. 
That  right  theory  is  found  in  a  simple  and  honest  interpretation  of 
the  ordination,  formula — that  we  receive  the  Confession  of  Faith  as 
containing  the  system,  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
This  declares  that  the  system  of  the  Confession  is  the  system  taught 
ill  the  Bible.  The  system  of  the  Confession,  as  everybody  knows,  is 
the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  system,  in  distinction  from  the  Lu- 
theran, or  Arminian,  the  Antinomian,  the  Pelagian  and  the  Roman 
Catholic.  No  one  can  honestly  and  fairly  subscribe  the  Confession 
who  does  not  accept  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  system.  This  is 
the  plain  sense  of  the  adopting  act  of  1729.  Everybody  knows  that 
the  'fair  historical '  sense  of  the  Confession  is  plainly  and  resolutely 
Calvinistic. 

"On  this  capital  point  of  assent  to  the  Confession,  then,  we  con- 
ilude  that  there  is  no  real  difference  between  the  Old  School  and 
the  New.  We  are  both  willing  to  accept  it  as  containing  the  Re- 
formed system  of  doctrine.  We  cordially  agree — and  so,  we  a-e 
convinced,  would  our  whole  New  School  ministry  and  eldership  — 
to  the  statement  of  this  theory  as  given  in  the  Princeton  Review. 
Among  honest  and  candid  men  there  is  really  no  doubt  or  question 
»s  to  what  subscription  implies." 


APPENDIX  II. 


''The  Auburn  Declaration"  adopted  by  a  representative 
body  of  New  School  Presbyterians  in  1837,  and  "The 
Declaratory  Act,"  adopted  by  the  United  Presbyte- 
rian Synod  of  Scotland,  1879. 

The  above-mentioned  declaratory  acts  are  the  only  two  historical 
papers  authoritatively  interpreting  the  sense  in  which  the  West- 
minster Confession  of  Faith  is  accepted  by  large  branches  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  Their  historical  and  interpretative  value  is 
obvious,  but  they  are  especially  valuable  as  demonstrating  the  fidelity 
with  which  the  Presbyterian  churches  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean 
adhere  to  the  original  type  of  Reformed  theology,  and  hence  their 
essential  unity  in  spite  of  their  organic  differences. 

I.  The  Auburn  Declaration. 

"  The  Auburn  Declaration,"-  drawn  up  by  the  Rev.  Baxter  Dick- 
inson, D.  D.,  was  issued  by  an  important  representative  convention 
of  Presbyterian  ministers  adhering  to  the  New  School  branch,  at 
Auburn,  New  York,  August,  1837.  It  is,  therefore,  an  authoritative 
explanation  of  the  interpretation  given  to  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion by  the  leading  minds  of  the  New  School  at  the  era  of  its  organ- 
ization as  a  distinct  denomination.  The  Old  School  General  Assem- 
bly in  Albany,  1868,  in  resolutions  looking  to  reunion,  endorsed  the 
"Auburn  Declaration"  as  containing  "all  the  fundamentals  of  the 
Calvinistic  Creed." 

Remission  of  Sin. 

1.  God  permitted  the  introduction  of  sin,  not  because  he  was  un- 
able to  prevent  it  consistently  with  the  moral  freedom  of  his  creatures, 
but  for  wise  and  benevolent  reasons  he  has  not  revealed. 

Election. 

2.  Election  to  eternal  life  is  not  founded  on  a  foresight  of  faith 
and  obedience,  but  is  a  sovereign  act  of  God's  mercy,  whereby,  ac- 
cording to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  he  has  chosen  some  to  salva- 
tion :  "  Yet  so  as  thereby  neither  is  violence  offered  to  the  will  of 
the  creatures,  nor  is  the  liberty  or  contingency  of  second  causes  taken 

544 


APPENDIX    II.  545 


away,  but  rather  established;"  nor  does  this  gracious  purpose  ever 
take  effect  independently  of  faith  and  a  holy  life. 

Fall  of  Adam. 

3.  By  a  divine  constitution  Adam  was  so  the  head  and  representa- 
tive of  the  race  that,  as  a  consequence  of  his  transgression,  all  man- 
kind became  morally  corrupt  and  liable  to  death,  temporal  and 
eternal. 

Hereditary  Sin. 

4.  Adam  was  created  in  the  image  of  God,  "endued  with  knowl- 
edge, righteousness,  and  true  holiness."  Infants  come  into  the 
world  not  only  destitute  of  these,  but  with  a  nature  inclined  to  evil, 
and  only  evil. 

Infants  involved  in  the  Moral  Ruin. 

5.  Brute  animals  sustain  no  such  relation  to  the  moral  govern- 
ment of  God  as  does  the  human  family.  Infants  are  a  part  of  the 
human  family,  and  their  suffering  and  death  are  to  be  accounted  for 
on  the  ground  of  their  being  involved  in  the  general  moral  ruin  of 
the  race  induced  by  the  apostasy. 

Universal  Need  of  Redemption. 

6.  Original  sin  is  a  natural  bias  to  evil,  resulting  from  the  first 
apostasy,  leading  invariably  and  certainly  to  actual  transgression. 
And  all  infants,  as  well  as  adults,  in  order  to  be  saved,  need  redemp- 
tion by  the  blood  of  Christ  and  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Imputation  of  Sin  and  Righteousness. 

7.  The  sin  of  Adam  is  not  imputed  to  his  posterity  in  the  sense  of 
a  literal  transfer  of  personal  qualities,  acts  and  demerit,  but  by  reason 
of  the  sin  of  Adam,  in  his  peculiar  relation,  the  race  are  treated  as  if 
they  had  sinned.  Nor  is  the  righteousness  of  Christ  imputed  to  his 
people  in  the  sense  of  a  literal  transfer  of  personal  qualities,  acts 
and  merit ;  but  by  reason  of  his  righteousness  in  his  peculiar  rela- 
tion they  are  treated  as  if  they  were  righteous. 

Atonement  of  Christ. 

8.  The  sufferings  of  Christ  are  not  symbolical,  governmental  and 
instructive  only,  but  were  truly  vicarious — i.  e.  a  substitute  for  the 
punishment  due  transgressors.  And  while  Christ  did  not  suffer  the 
literal  penalty  of  the  law,  involving  remorse  of  conscience  and  the 
pains  of  hell,  he  did  offer  a  sacrifice  which  infinite  wisdom  saw  to 
be  a  full  equivalent.  And  by  virtue  of  this  atonement  overtures  of 
mercy  are  sincerely  made  to  the  race,  and  salvation  secured  to  all 
who  believe. 

35 


546  APPENDIX   II. 


Moral  Ability. 

9.  While  sinners  have  all  the  faculties  necessary  to  a  perfect  moral 
agency  and  a  just  accountability,  such  is  their  love  of  sin  and  oppo- 
sition to  God  and  his  law  that,  independently  of  the  renewing  influ- 
ence or  almighty  energy,  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  never  will  comply 
with  the  commands  of  God. 

Intercession  of  Christ. 

10.  The  intercession  of  Christ  for  the  elect  is  previous  as  well  as 
subsequent  to  their  regeneration,  as  appears  from  the  following 
Scripture — viz. :  "  I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but  for  them  which 
thou  hast  given  me,  for  they  are  thine.  Neither  pray  I  for  these 
alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their 
word"  (John  xvii.  9,  20). 

Saving  Faith. 

11.  Saving  faith  is  an  intelligent  and  cordial  assent  to  the  testi- 
mony of  God  concerning  his  Son,  implying  reliance  on  Christ  alone 
for  pardon  and  eternal  life ;  and  in  all  cases  it  is  an  effect  of  the 
special  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

^Regeneration. 

12.  .Regeneration  is  a  radical  change  of  heart,  produced  by  the 
special  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  "determining  the  sinner  to 
that  which  is  good,"  and  is  in  all  cases  instantaneous. 

Salvation  by  Grace. 

13.  While  repentance  for  sin  and  faith  in  Christ  are  indispensable 
to  salvation,  all  who  are  saved  are  indebted  from  first  to  last  to  the 
grace  and  Spirit  of  God.  And  the  reason  that  God  does  not  save  all 
is  not  that  he  wants  the  power  to  do  it,  but  that  in  his  wisdom  he 
does  not  see  fit  to  exert  that  power  further  than  he  actually  does. 

Liberty  and  Will. 

14.  While  the  liberty  of  the  will  is  not  impaired,  nor  the  estab- 
lished connection  betwixt  means  and  end  broken,  by  any  action  of 
God  on  the  mind,  he  can  influence  it  according  to  his  pleasure,  and 
does  effectually  determine  it  to  good  in  all  cases  of  true  conversion. 

Justification. 

15.  All  believers  are  justified,  not  on  the  ground  of  personal 
merit,  but  solely  on  the  ground  of  the  obedience  and  death,  or,  in 
other  words,  the  righteousness,  of  Christ.  And  while  that  righteous- 
ness does  not  become  theirs,  in  the  sense  of  a  literal  transfer  of  per- 
gonal qualities  and  merit,  yet  from  respect  to  it  God  can,  and  does, 
treat  them  as  if  they  were  righteous. 


ATPENDIX    II.  547 


Freedom  in  Faith  and  Unbelief. 

16.  While  such  as  reject  the  gospel  of  Christ  do  it,  not  by  coercion, 
but  freely,  and  all  who  embrace  it  do  it,  not  by  coercion,  but  freely, 
the  reason  why  some  differ  from  others  is  that  God  has  made  them 
to  differ. 

II.  The  Declaratory  Act. 

The  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  was  formed  in  1847 
by  a  union  of  the  United  Associate  Synod  of  the  Secession  Church 
with  the  Synod  of  the  Relief  Church.  In  the  doctrinal  basis  of  this 
union  it  was  declared  "  that  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  and 
the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  are  the  Confession  and  Catechisms 
of  this  Church,  and  contain  the  authorized  exhibition  of  the  sense  in 
which  we  understand  the  Holy  Scriptures." 

In  order  to  explain  the  above  basis  the  following  Declaratory  Act 
as  to  the  sense  in  which  the  Confession  is  to  be  understood  was  passed 
by  the  Synod  in  May,  1879 : 

"  Whereas,  The  formula  in  which  the  Subordinate  *  Standards 
of  this  Church  are  accepted  requires  assent  to  tbem  as  an  exhibition 
of  the  sense  in  which  the  Scriptures  are  understood;  Whereas, 
These  Standards,  being  of  human  composition,  are  necessarily  im- 
perfect, and  the  Church  has  already  allowed  exception  to  be  taken 
to  their  teaching  or  supposed  teaching  on  one  important  subject ;  f 
And  Whereas,  There  are  other  subjects  in  regard  to  which  it  has 
been  found  desirable  to  set  forth  more  fully  and  clearly  the  view 
which  the  Synod  takes  of  the  Holy  Scripture ;  Therefore,  the  Synod 
hereby  declares  as  follows : 

"  1.  That  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  redemption  as  taught  in  the 
Standards,  and  in  consistency  therewith,  the  love  of  God  to  all  man- 
kind, his  gift  of  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world,  and  the  free  offer  of  salvation  to  men  without  distinc- 
tion on  the  ground  of  Christ's  perfect  sacrifice,  are  matters  which 
have  been  and  continue  to  be  regarded  by  this  Church  as  vital  to  the 
system  of  gospel  truth,  and  to  which  due  prominence  ought  ever  to 
be  given. 

"  2.  That  the  doctrine  of  divine  decrees,  including  the  doctrine  of 
election  to  eternal  life,  is  held  in  connection  and  harmony  with  the 
truth  that  God  is  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 
should  come  to  repentance,  that  he  has  provided  a  salvation  suf- 
ficient for  all,  adapted  to  all  and  offered  to  all  in  the  gospel ;  and 
also  with  the  responsibility  of  every  man  for  his  dealing  with  the 
free  and  unrestricted  offer  of  eternal  life. 

"3.  That  the  doctrine  of  man's  total  depravity,  and  of  his  loss  of 
all  ability  of  will  to  any  spiritual  good  accompanying  salvation,  is 
not  held  as  implying  such  a  condition  of  man's  nature  as  would 
affect  his  responsibility  under  the  law  of  God  and  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  or  that  he  does  not  experience  the  striving  and  restraining 

*" Subordinate"— i.  e.  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  ate,  of  course,  the  abso- 
lute standards. 
t  That  is,  as  to  the  authority  of  the  civil  magistrate  iu  the  sphere  of  leligioiL 


548  APPENDIX   II. 

influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  or  that  he  cannot  perform  actions  in 
any  sense  good ;  although  actions  which  do  not  spring  from  a  re- 
newed heart  are  not  spiritually  good  or  holy— such  as  accompany 
salvation. 

"  4.  That  while  none  are  saved  except  through  the  mediation  of 
Christ,  and  by  the  grace  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  who  worketh  when  and 
where  and  how  it  pleaseth  him ;  while  the  duty  of  sending  the 
gospel  to  the  heathen,  who  are  sunk  in  ignorance,  sin,  and  misery,  is 
clear  and  imperative ;  and  while  the  outward  and  ordinary  means 
of  salvation  for  those  capable  of  being  outwardly  called  by  the  word 
are  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  in  accepting  the  Standards,  it  is 
not  required  to  be  held  that  any  who  die  in  infancy  are  lost,  or  that 
God  may  not  extend  his  grace  to  any  who  are  without  the  pale  of 
the  ordinary  means,  as  it  may  seem  good  in  his  sight. 

"5.  That  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the  civil  magistrate,  and  his 
authority  and  duty  in  the  sphere  of  religion,  as  taught  in  the  Stand- 
ards,* this  Church  holds  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  King 
and  Head  of  the  Church,  and  '  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church, 
which  is  his  body,'  disapproves  all  compulsory  or  persecuting  and 
intolerant  principles  in  religion ;  and  declares,  as  hitherto,  that  she 
does  not  require  approval  of  anything  in  her  Standards  that  teaches, 
or  may  be  supposed  to  teach,  such  principles. 

"6.  That  Christ  has  laid  it  as  a  permanent  and  universal  obliga- 
tion upon  his  Church  at  once  to  maintain  her  own  ordinances  and  to 
'preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature;'  and  has  ordained  that  his 
people  provide  by  their  free-will  offerings  for  the  fulfillment  of  this 
obligation. 

"7.  That,  in  accordance  with  the  practice  hitherto  observed  in 
this  Church,  liberty  of  opinion  is  allowed  on  such  points  in  the 
Standards,  not  entering  into  the  substance  of  the  faith,  as  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  '  six  days '  in  the  Mosaic  account  of  creation :  the 
Church  guarding  against  the  abuse  of  this  liberty  to  the  injury  of  its 
unity  and  peace." 

*  This  refers  to  paragraphs  of  the  Westminster  Confession  chap.  20,  ?  4;  chap. 
23,  §3;  chap.  31,  |2,  which  were  entirely  altered  by  the  American  Confession 
before  it  was  adopted  by  the  Synod.    See  above,  Introduction,  page  41. 


INDEX. 


Ability  as  distinguished  from  liberty,  225. 

Act  of  Supremacy,  35. 

Uniformity,  36. 

Adam,  created  immediately  by  God,  121,  122.  The  root  of  the  wnole 
human  race,  122-124.  Created  in  the  image  of  God,  124-126.  En- 
dowed with  sufficient  knowledge,  126.  Fallible,  126.  The  fall  of, 
147-153.  The  fall  of,  permitted  by  God  and  overruled  for  his  own 
glory.  The  effects  of  their  sin  upon  our  first  parents,  151-153.  Is 
the  federal  as  well  as  the  natural  head  of  all  mankind,  153,  156. 
The  federal  headship  of,  proved  to  be  the  doctrine  of  our  Standards, 
154,  155,  170.  The  federal  headship  of,  proved  from  Scripture,  156. 
The  sin  of,  immediately  imputed  to  all  his  descendants,  156-159. 
This  imputation  proved  to  be  the  doctrine  of  our  Standards,  157.  And 
proved  to  be  the  doctrine  of  Scripture,  158,  159. 

Adopting  Act,  21. 

Adoption,  doctrine  of,  260-263.  Relation  of,  to  justification,  regeneration, 
etc.,  260,  261.     Elements  and  effects  of,  261,  262. 

Annihilationists,  534. 

Antichrist,  433. 

Apology  for  Augsburg  Confession,  27. 

Apocrypha,  53,  54. 

Arminian  view  of  God's  decrees,  96-101.  View  of  justification,  250.  View 
of  Christian  perfection,  269,  270.     View  of  perseverance,  315,  316. 

Articles  of  Smalcald,  27. 

Assurance,  doctrine  of,  322-333.  False,  discriminated  from  true,  323. 
The  attainment  of,  possible,  324,  325.  The  grounds  and  evidences  of, 
shown,  325-32S.  Witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  326-328.  Not  of  the 
essence  of  faith,  330,  332.     May  be  temporarily  lost,  333. 

Attributes  of  God,  74-83.  How  distinguished  from  personal  properties, 
88,  89. 

Augsburg  Confession,  21. 

649 


550  INDEX. 

Baptism,  doctrine  of,  460-478.    Immediately  instituted  by  Christ,  461,  462. 

Of  perpetual   obligation,  462.      Its   nature,  emblematic   import  and 

mode,  463-467.     Its  design,  468.     What  adults  subjects  of,  468,  469. 

Infant,  472-475.     Whose  infants  should  be  baptized,  474,  475.     The 

efficacy  and  necessity  of,  476-478. 
Bull  Unigenitus  of  Clement  XI.,  26. 

Call,  external  and  internal.     See  Effectual  Calling. 

Calling.     See  Effectual  Calling. 

Calvin  doctrine  of  justification,  251. 

Canon  of  Scripture.     See  Scripture. 

Canons  and  decrees  of  Council  of  Trent,  25,  305,  316,  370,  376,  453,  455 
489,  490,  491,  521.     Of  Synod  of  Dort,  28,  33,  224. 

Catechisms  of  Westminster  Assembly  adopted  by  the  original  Synod,  21.  22 
Of  Bellarmine,  26.  Roman,  25,  202,  203,  207,  291,  431,  521.  Of  Lu 
ther,  27.     Of  Heidelberg,  28. 

Censures.     See  Church  Censures. 

Certainty  of  an  event  not  inconsistent  with  the  freedom  of  the  agent  in 
effecting  it,  100. 

Christ,  divinity  of,  85-88.  Pre-existence  of,  85.  Distinct  Person  from 
the  Father,  86,  87.  Personal  properties  of,  88,  89.  Eternal  relation 
to  the  Father,  88,  89.  Girea  to  carry  into  effect  the  decree  of  election, 
104-106.  Designed  to  secure  the  salvation  of  the  elect  only,  104-106.  As 
mediatorial  King  contracts  and  administers  the  covenant  of  grace,  176, 
178.  Mediatorial  office  of,  184-215.  A  prophet,  a  priest  and  a  king, 
185-190.  Head  over  all  things  to  his  Church,  189,  190.  True  God 
and  true  man  in  one  person,  190-196.  His  person  eternal  and  divine, 
his  humanity  impersonal,  194,  1,15.  Absolutely  sinless,  193.  The 
constitution  of  his  person  a  mysterj-,  195.  The  natures  not  mixed,  195, 
196.  His  humanity  exalted  but  not  deified,  198.  Is  Mediator  as  God- 
man,  198,  199.  Appointed  to  his  office  by  his  Father,  199.  Assumed 
the  office  voluntarily,  199,  200.  Functions  discharged  by  him  in  his 
estate  of  humiliation,  200-203.  In  his  estate  of  exaltation,  203-205. 
His  "descent  into  hell"  (Hades) — different  opinions  of,  202,  203.  Ilia 
resurrection,  ascension  and  session  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  203,  204. 
Satisfaction  of,  includes  both  his  active  and  passive  obedience,  206. 
Made  satisfaction  in  strict  rigour  of  justice,  207,208.  It  secures  the  salva- 
tion of  all  those  for  whom  offered,  208,  209.  Benefits  of,  applied  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  209.  Mediatorial  actions  of,  involve  both  natures,  and 
are  to  be  attributed  to  the  entire  Person,  210,  211.  He  applies  his 
redemption  to  all  for  whom  he  purchased  it,  212-215.  Its  infinite 
sufficiency,  its  adaptability,  its  universal  offer  and  its  intended  effects, 


index.  5r,i 

213-215.  The  union  and  communion  of  Christ  with  saints,  437-440. 
To  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead,  529. 

Christianity,  evidences  of,  49,  50.  A  knowledge  and  profession  of,  neces- 
sary to  salvation,  241,  242. 

Christian  liberty.     See  Liberty. 

Church,  doctrine  of,  421-423.  Catholic,  421.  Etymology  and  scriptural 
usage  of  the  word,  422.  Invisible,  422-424.  Visible,  424,  425.  En- 
dowed with  the  word  and  ordinances,  426.  Without  the  bounds  of,  no 
salvation,  420,  427.  Varies  in  purity,  428-430.  In  what  sense  infal- 
lible, 430,  431.  The  Lord  Jesus  the  only  Head  of,  431-433,  497.  Papal 
aud  Erastian  errors  concerning,  refuted,  431,  432,  496. 

Church  censures,  doctrine  of,  496-503. 

Church  and  State,  relation  of,  404,  406. 

Cburch  government,  Popish  theory  of,  498.  Prelatical  theory  of,  498,499. 
Independent  theory  of,  499.  Presbyterian  theory  of,  499,  500,  505- 
512.  Power  of,  its  nature  and  extent,  501,  502.  End  of  discipline, 
502,  503. 

Civil  magistrate,  doctrine  of,  398-407.  A  divine  institution,  398-400. 
Ends  of  institution  of,  4C0,  401.  Should  promote  piety,  401.  Should 
be  Christians,  402.  Defensive  war  lawful,  402,  403.  No  jurisdiction 
in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  405,  406.     Obedience  to,  a  religious  duty,  406. 

Communion  of  saints,  the  doctrine  of,  436-442.  Founded  on  their  union 
with  Christ,  437-439.  With  the  Lord,  439,  440.  With  each  other, 
440-442.     The  universality  and  glory  of,  442. 

Concupiscence,  its  sin  and  guilt,  271. 

Conditions  of  ministerial  communion  and  of  church  membership,  21. 

Confession  of  Faith  adopted  by  the  original  Synod,  21,  22.  Tridentine,  25. 
Orthodox,  26.  Of  Grenadius,  26.  Of  Augsburg,  and  apology  for,  27. 
Helvetic  2d,  28,  30.  Of  Westminster,  adopted  by  English  and  Ameri- 
can Congregationalists,  29.  Of  Westminster,  history  of  origin  of,  33- 
44.  Old  Scotch,  and  First  Book  of  Discipline,  33,  34.  Of  Westminster, 
prepared,  38,  39.  Finished  and  ratified  by  Parliament  and  by  Scotch 
General  Assembly,  39.  Ratified  by  original  Synod,  40.  Revised  in 
chapters  and  sections  relating  to  civil  magistrates,  40,  41. 

Confession  of  sin,  true  doctrine  of,  294-296.     Romish  doctrine  of,  295. 

Conscience,  liberty  of.     See  Liberty. 

Councils.     See  Synods  and  Councils. 

C?*enant  of  Grace,  doctrine  of,  172-181.  Arminian  view  of,  173,  174. 
Calvinistic  view  of,  174-178.  Proof  that  such  a  covenant  was  con- 
tracted between  the  Father  and  Son,  176.  The  promise  and  condition 
of,  176,  177.  Administered  and  its  blessings  applied  by  Christ  as 
mediatorial  King,  177,  178.     Various  dispensations  of,  179-181. 

National,  34.     Solemn  League  and,  34. 


552  INDEX. 

Crenant  of  works,  doctrine  of,  167-172.  Contracted  with  Adam  as  the  rep- 
resentative  of  the  race,  153-156,  169,  170.  The  elements  of,  169.  A 
gracious,  rational  and  favourable  constitution,  16S,  169.  The  promise, 
the  condition,  and  the  penalty  of,  170-172. 

Creation,  doctrine  of,  113-127.  Creatio  prima  and  creatio  secunda,  115-117. 
Elements  created  out  of  nothing,  as  well  as  all  things  formed  by  Gcd, 
115-119.  Absolute  creation  out  of  nothing  proved,  115,  116.  Account 
of,  in  Genesis,  117, 118.  Attributed  to  all  the  divine  persons,  117.  The 
final  end  of,  the  glory  of  God,  119,  120.  All  God's  works  of,  he  pro- 
nounced very  good,  118,  119.  Of  man,  121-127.  Of  man,  last  of  the 
organized  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  121,  122.  Of  man  immediately  by 
God,  121, 122.  Of  entire  race  in  one  pair,  122-124.  Of  man  in  a  state 
of  moral  perfection  in  image  of  God,  124,  125;    yet  fallible,  126,  127. 

Cieeds  and  Confessions,  short  history  of,  19-29.  Origin  of,  20.  Necessity 
and  proper  use  of,  20,  21.  Apostles',  23.  Nicene,  23,  24,  89.  Of 
Council  of  Ephesus,  24.  Of  Council  of  Chalcedon,  24,  191.  Athana- 
sian,  24,  25.  Of  the  Lutheran  churches,  26,  27.  Of  the  Reformed 
churches,  27,  28.     Consensus  Tigurinus  of  Calvin,  493. 

Death,  516. 

Decrees  of  God,  doctrine  of,  92-111.  Comprehend  all  events  of  every  kind, 
93-95.  Are  none  of  thera  conditional,  95,  98.  Are  always  certainly 
efficacious,  98.  Are  all  consistent  with  his  own  perfections,  98,  99. 
And  with  the  nature  and  modes  of  action  of  the  creature,  99, 100.  Are 
all  one  purpose,  92,  94.  Determine  means  and  conditions  as  well  as 
ends,  97.  Determine  free  actions  of  men,  94.  And  the  sinful  actions 
of  men,  94,  95,  150,  151.  Are  not  the  proximate  causes  of  any  event, 
100.  Predestinate  individuals  to  salvation,  101-104.  See  Predestina- 
tion. Include  the  reprobation  of  the  wicked,  104-107.  See  Reproba- 
tion. Doctrine  of,  to  be  handled  carefully,  110,111.  Not  revealed,  and 
not  the  rule  of  man's  duty,  111. 

Design  of  the  Atonement,  104-107,  212-215. 

Development,  theory  of  organic,  122. 

Directory  of  Worship  adopted,  22.  Formed,  38.  Ratified  by  Scotch  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  39. 

Dispensations  of  covenant  of  grace,  various,  179-181. 

Divorce,  417,  418. 

Doctrinal  Standards  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  25,  26.  Of  Greek  Church,  26, 
27.     Of  Lutheran  Church,  26,  27.     Of  Reformed  churches,  27,  28. 

Dort,  Synod  of,  and  Canons  of.     See  Synod  and  Canons. 

Effectual  calling,  doctrine  of,  230-242.  An  internal  and  spiritual  call 
proved  necessary  to  salvation,  232,  233.     Embraces  all  the  elect  and 


INDEX.  553 

only  the  elect,  234.     The  sole  agent  in  effecting,  the  Holy  Ghost,  234, 

237.  Common  and  efficacious  grace  distinguished.  How  related  tr 
the  activities  of  the  soul,  235,  236.  Regeneration  and  conversion  dis- 
tinguished, 235,  236.  Wrought  by  the  Spirit  through  the  truth,  237. 
Certainly   efficacious,  237.     Perfectly  congruous   to   our  nature,  237, 

238.  Effects  embrace  the  entire  man,  238, 239. 
Election.     See  Predestination  and  Decrees. 
Erastians,  38,  405,  431,  496. 

Eternal  punishments,  533,  534. 
Eucharist.     See  Lord's  Supper. 

Faith,  relation  of,  to  justification,  252-254.  Relation  of,  to  works,  253. 
Saving,  the  doctrine  of,  275-283.  General  sense  of  the  term,  275,  276. 
Religious,  276.  Saving,  defined,  276.  Wrought  in  the  soul  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  through  the  truth,  277.  Strengthened  by  the  use  of  means 
278.  Rests  on  the  testimony  of  God,  279.  Embraces  all  revealed  truth, 
280,281.  Varies  with  the  nature  of  the  truth  revealed,  280,  281.  In- 
cludes trust,  280.  The  specific  act  of  justifying  faith  includes  assent 
and  trust,  and  terminates  upon  Christ  as  its  object,  281,  2S2.  Varies 
in  degree,  is  indestructible,  grows  to  full  assurance,  2S3.  Assuranco 
not  of  the  essence  of,  330-333. 

Form  of  Government  adopted,  22. 

Formula  of  Concord,  27,  202,  206,  207,  225,  252. 

Free  will,  doctrine  of  219-228.  Different  theories  of,  219,  220.  Self-deter- 
mining power  of  man  proved,  220,  221.  State  of,  in  the  several  con- 
ditions of  innocency,  sin,  grace  and  glory,  222-228.  Distinction  be- 
tween liberty  and  ability,  225.     Total  inability,  224-227. 

Full  assurance.     See  Assurance. 

God,  unity  of,  71,  72,  84.  A  personal  Spirit,  72,  74.  Poi  fesses  all  abso- 
lute perfections,  74-S3.  Attributes  of,  74-83.  Attributes  of,  common 
to  all  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead,  75.  His  infinity,  75.  His  immen- 
sity, 75.  His  eternity,  76.  His  infinite  intelligence,  76.  His  omnip- 
otence, 77.  His  absolute  goodness  and  grace,  79.  His  absolute  truth, 
80.  His  infinite  justice,  80,  82.  His  infinite  holiness,  S2.  His  abso- 
lute sovereignty,  82,  83.  The  decrees  of,  92-111.  From  eternity  pos- 
sesses an  unchangeable  plan,  92,  93.  His  own  glory  his  ultimate  end 
in  purpose  and  action,  103,  119,  120,  134.  The  order  of  decrees  of, 
stated,  106. 

Good  works,  doctrine  of,  298-311.  Essential  elements  of,  299,  300.  Effects 
and  uses  of,  300,  301.  The  fruits  of  grace  alone,  303.  Diligent  effort 
necessary  to  the  production  of,  303,  304.  Of  supererogation  impossible, 
305,  307.     Rouish  doctrine  of,  305.    Relation  of,  to  rewards,  307-309. 


554  INDEX. 

In  what  sense  impossible  for  the  unregenerate,  310,311.     In  what 

sense  not  impossible  to  him,  310. 
Grace.     See  God.     Common  and  efficacious,  distinguished,  234,  235. 
Government.     See  Civil  Magistrate. 

Heaven,  518,  519.     Eternal  happiness  and  honour,  532. 

Heidelberg  Catechism,  28,  206,  251,  252. 

Hell,  518.     Conscious  misery  absolutely  unending,  533,  534. 

Holy  Scripture.     See  Scripture. 

Holy  Spirit,  divinity  of,  86.     Personality  of,  86-88.     The  gift  of  a  means 

to  effect  the  end  of  sovereign  election,  105.    Regenerates  and  sanctifies 

only  the  elect.     The  witness  of,  326-328. 

Imputation,  meaning  of  term,  156.     Of  Adam's  sin  to  each  of  his  descend 
ants  proved  to  be  the  doctrine  of  our  Standards,  157,  and  proved  to 
be  the  doctrine  of  Scripture,  158,  159.     Of  sin  and  the  moral  conse- 
quences thereof,  159,  160.    Of  Christ's  righteousness  to  believers,  249- 
252. 

Inability  of  man  total,  224-227.  Absolute,  226.  Moral,  226.  Natural, 
226.     Liberty  and  ability  distinguished,  225. 

Incest,  416. 

Independents,  37.     Theory  of  Church  government  of,  499. 

Infallibility,  Papal  doctrine  of,  430. 

Infants,  regeneration  of,  239,  240.     Baptism  of,  472-475. 

Inspiration,  54.     Doctrine  proved,  54-56. 

Intercession  of  Christ,  204,  205. 

Intermediate  state  of  men,  521. 

Judgment,  day  of,  527-536.  Time  of,  appointed  by  God,  52S.  To  be  con- 
ducted by  Christ,  529  All  men  and  evil  angels  to  be  arraigned,  529, 
530.  The  secrets  of  all  hearts  to  be  tried,  530,  531.  The  time  uncer- 
tain, 535,  536. 

Justice.     See  God. 

Justification,  doctrine  of,  245-257.  A  judicial  act  of  God,  246-249.  Ex- 
perienced by  all  the  effectually  called,  246.  Not  mere  pardon,  248, 
249.  Proceeds  upon  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness,  249-252. 
Faith  in  or  on  Christ  being  the  instrument  of,  252,  253.  A  stupendous 
act  of  grace,  254,  255.  Not  eternal,  takes  effect  only  upon  the  exer- 
cise of  faith,  255-259.  The  justified  never  totally  fall  from  grace — their 
lapses  repented  of  and  forgiven,  256,  257.  Of  both  New  and  Old  Tes- 
tament believers  on  the  same  principle,  257.  Relation  of,  to  regenei- 
tion,  sanctification  and  adoption,  260,  261. 


INDEX.  555 

Law  of  God,  doctrine  of,  336-349.  Man  created  under,  337.  Has  its 
ground  in  the  nature  of  God,  337.  Different  classes  of,  338.  Revealed 
ir  the  moral  nature  of  man,  339.  The  Scriptures  the  only  perfect 
standard  of,  340.  The  federal  relation  of,  temporary,  340.  The  natu- 
ral relation  of,  permanent,  340.  Summarily  comprehended  in  the  Ten 
Commandments,  341,  342.  Ceremonial  and  judicial,  of  the  Jews,  343- 
347.      The  uses  of,  to  different  classes  of  men  stated,  348,  349. 

Liberty,  Christian  and  of  conscience,  doctrine  of,  353-363.  How  differs 
from  liberty  of  will,  352.  What  consists  in,  353-356.  As  enjoyed 
under  the  law  and  under  the  gospel,  356,  357.  God  alone  Lord  of  the 
conscience,  359-362.  Not  absolute,  but  regulated  and  limited,  362, 
363. 

Liberty  of  will  not  inconsistent  with  the  certainty  of  an  event,  100.  Sec 
Free  will,  219,  etc.     As  distinguished  from  ability,  225,  226. 

Light  of  nature  sufficient  to  render  man  responsible,  44.  But  not  sufficient 
to  lead  to  salvation,  45,  47. 

Long  Parliament.     See  Parliament. 

Lord's  Supper,  doctrine  of,  4S2-493.  Instituted  by  Christ,  482.  Of  per- 
petual obligation,  482.  Design  and  effect  of,  483,  484.  Romish  errori 
refuted,  485-491.  Essential  elements  and  sacramental  actions,  486- 
488.  Not  to  be  administered  privately,  491.  Relation  between  the 
sign  and  the  grace  signified,  492,  493. 

Luther's  Larger  and  Smaller  Catechisms,  27. 

Lutheran  churches,  geographical  distribution  of,  26. 

Magistrate.     See  Civil  Magistrate. 

Marriage,  doctrine  of,  409-418.  A  divine  institution,  410,  411.  Ends  of 
institution,  411.  Polygamy  unlawful,  411,  412.  Celibacy  not  merito- 
rious, 412.  Not  to  be  contracted  with  unbelievers,  414,  415.  Incest, 
416.     Divorce,  Bible  law  of,  417,  418. 

Mediator,  185.     Doctrine  of,  185-215. 

Mediatorial  office  includes  the  functions  of  prophet,  priest  and  king,  186- 
190. 

Merit,  different  senses  of  word,  307,  308.  In  strict  sense  impossible  to  any 
creature,  308,  309.     See  Good  Works. 

Miracles,  possible,  138-140. 

Oaths,  doctrine  of,  388-393.  Their  nature,  389.  Lawful  only  when  in  the 
name  of  the  true  God,  389,  390.  Literal  meaning  of  the  third  com- 
mandment, 390.  Rule  of  interpretation  of,  392.  Their  oblig  .ton, 
292,  393. 

Original  sin.     See  Sin,  see  Adam  and  see  Imputation. 


556  INDEX 

Pantheism,  72,  130. 

Papal  doctrine  of  confession.  Of  Church  and  State,  404.  Of  celibacy,  412. 
Of  infallibility  of  Church,  430,  431.  Of  headship  of  Pope,  431,  432. 
Of  number  of  the  sacraments,  456.  Of  Lord's  Supper  and  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass,  488-491.  Of  government  of  the  Church,  498.  Of  pur- 
gatory and  the  intermediate  state,  520,  521. 

Pardon,  how  distinguished  from  justification,  248,  249. 

Parliament,  Long,  convened,  36.     Dissolved,  40. 

Pelagian  view  of  perfection,  269. 

Pearson  on  the  Creed,  202. 

Perfection  not  attainable  in  this  life,  269-272.  Pelagian,  Arminian  and 
Papist  view  of,  269,  270.     Should  be  sought  for,  272. 

Perseverance  of  the  saints,  doctrine  of,  314-321.  Not  inconsistent  with 
free  agency,  317.  Does  not  foster  carnal  security,  317.  The  fact  of, 
proved,  318.     The  grounds  of,  shown,  318. 

Preceptive  and  not  the  decretive  will  of  God  the  rule  of  duty,  111. 

Predestination.  See  Decrees.  Of  individuals  to  salvation,  101-104.  De- 
cree of,  contemplates  man  as  already  created  and  fallen,  102.  Relates 
to  persons,  not  classes,  102.  Is  unchangeable,  102.  Is  sovereign  and 
unconditional,  102,  103.  Its  ultimate  motive  is  the  glory  of  God.  The 
purpose  of,  precedes  and  determines  the  purpose  to  give  Christ  to  die 
for  the  elect,  105-107.  Includes  all  the  means  necessary  to  effect  the 
ends  intended,  as  well  as  the  ends  themselves,  105-1.10.  Doctrine  of, 
to  be  carefully  handled,  110-111. 

Prelatical  theory  of  church  government,  498,  499. 

Presbyterian  theory  of  church  government,  499,  500. 

Preservation  of  all  things  by  God,  different  theories  of,  130,  132. 

Priest,  186,  187. 

Profession  of  religion,  and  how  necessary  to  salvation,  427. 

Properties  peculiar  to  each  Person  of  the  Trinity,  88.  How  distinguished 
from  attributes,  88. 

Prophet,  187-189. 

Providence,  doctrine  of,  129-144.  Execution  by  God  of  his  eternal  pur- 
pose, 134.  Includes  preservation  of  all  things,  130-132.  Controls  all 
the  actions  of  his  creatures,  132-134.  Even  the  free  and  the  sinful 
actions,  133,  134.  The  design  of  this  government  is  the  promotion  of 
his  own  glory,  134.  The  control  of,  certainly  efficacious,  135.  Mode 
of  operation  always  consistent  with  the  nature  of  the  creatures  subject 
to  it,  135-137.  The  purpose  of  God  in,  usually  effected  through  the 
agency  of  second  causes,  137,  138.  Also  at  times  carried  on  through 
the  immediate  intervention  of  God,  138.  Controls  the  sinful  actions 
of  men,  140,  141.  Perfectly  holy,  141.  Embraces  the  universe,  and 
includes  the  special  providential  government  of  the  Cbuieh,  and  tha 


INDEX.  55? 

gracious  dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  142,  143.     It  provides  for  the  dis- 
cipline of  God's  children  and  the  judgment  of  his  enemies,  144. 
Purgatory,  Romish  doctrine  of,  376,  520,  521. 

Reformed  Churches,  geographical  distribution  of,  27. 

Reformation  in  Scotland,  34.     In  England,  35. 

Regeneration,  232-239.  As  distinguished  from  conversion,  235,  236.  See 
Effectual  Calling.  Radical  and  thorough,  affects  the  whole  man,  238 
239.  Of  infants  and  imbecile  adults,  239,  240.  Relation  of,  to  justifi- 
cation, sanctification,  adoption,  2C0,  261. 

Repentance,  doctrine  of,  1S5-296.  The  grounds  of,  286,  287.  The  con- 
stituent elements  of,  287-289.  Is  both  a  grace  and  a  duty,  289. 
Should  be  diligently  preached,  289.  Has  no  merit — does  not  satisfy  for 
sin,  290,  292.  Romish  doctrine  of,  291.  Necessary  to  salvation,  292. 
Certainly  leads  to  salvation,  293.  Of  sin  in  general  and  of  sins  in  par- 
ticular, 293.  Should  be  followed  by  confession  and  restitution,  294. 
Christians  should  forgive  repentant  offenders,  295.  Romish  doctrine 
of  confession,  295,  296. 

Reprobation,  doctrine  of,  107-110.  Includes  a  negative  element  which  is 
sovereign,  and  a  positive  element  which  is  judicial,  108.  Men  are  to 
be  condemned  only  for  their  sins,  108.  Perfectly  consistent  with  just- 
ice, 108,  109.  Taught  in  Scripture,  109.  Doctrine  of,  to  be  carefully 
handled,  110,  111. 

Restorationists,  doctrine  of,  534. 

Resurrection  of  Christ,  203,  204. 

Resurrection  of  the  dead,  522-525.  General  and  simultaneous,  522,  523. 
Of  these  identical  bodies,  523,  524.     Spiritual  body,  524,  525. 

Revelation,  absolutely  necessary  for  man,  44-48.  God  has  granted  such 
in  different  times  and  ways,  44-50.  At  present  exclusively  embraced 
in  Scripture,  49,  50.     The  evidences  of,  49. 

Revelations,  modern  and  private,  to  be  rejected,  60. 

Right  hand  of  God,  Christ's  session  at,  204. 

Sabbath-day,  doctrine  of,  380-3S4.  Reason  of  institution  permanent,  381, 
382.  Also  a  positive  institution,  382,  383.  How  Christian,  differs 
from  Jewish,  382-384. 

Sacraments,  doctrine  of,  445-457.  Biblical  and  ecclesiastical  usage  of  the 
word,  445,  446.  Definition  of,  446,  447.  Instituted  by  Christ,  447. 
Relation  of  sign  to  grace  signified,  447—450.  Design  and  effect  of,  450, 
452.  Do  not  contain  grace,  452,  453.  Efficacy  of,  real,  though  only 
instrumental,  453,  454.  Papal  doctrine  as  to  number  of,  454-456.  Of 
oid  and  new  dispensations  the  same,  456.  See  also  Baptism  and 
Lord's  Supper. 


558  INDEX. 

Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  488-491. 

Saints.     See  Communion  of  Saints. 

Sanctification,  doctrine  of,  264-272.  Relation  of,  to  adoption,  justification, 
etc.,  260,  261.  Twofold  meaning  of  the  word,  265.  A  work  of  God, 
265.  Inward  and  outward  means  of,  266,  267.  Includes  mortificatior. 
of  sin  and  vivification  of  grace,  267,  268.  Embraces  the  whole  man, 
268,  269.     Never  perfected  in  this  life,  269,  272. 

Satisfaction  of  Christ.     See  Christ. 

Scripture,  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  19.  Must  be  interpreted  by 
man,  19.  Doctrine  of,  43-68.  Contains  the  only  revelation  God  now 
makes  to  man,  48-50.  Canon  of,  50,  51.  Embraces  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  51.  Inspired,  51,  54,  56.  Internal  evidences  of,  51,  58. 
Externa],  51.  Proof  of  the  genuineness  of  the  canon  of,  52-54.  Does 
not  include  Apocrypha,  53,  54.  Inspiration  of,  proved,  54-56.  Au- 
thority of,  does  not  rest  upon  Church,  but  immediately  upon  God,  57, 
58.  And  established  by  direct  witness  of  Holy  Ghost,  58,  59.  The 
perfection  of,  58.  A  complete  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  59,  60.  No- 
thing to  be  added,  60.  Teach  general  principles — man  left  to  his  own 
judgment  in  applying  them  to  details  of  life,  52.  In  what  sense  they 
are  perspicuous,  63.  That  they  are  so  proved,  63,  64.  The  original 
Hebrew  and  Greek,  the  true  standard,  64,  65.  Text  of,  essentially 
pure,  65.  Should  be  translated  into  every  vernacular,  65.  Scripture 
to  be  interpreted  by  Scripture,  66,  67.  The  supreme  judge  in  all  con- 
troversies. 

Sin,  origin  of,  a  mystery,  148-151.  Nature  of,  Adam's,  148.  Permission 
of,  how  related  to  God,  150,  151.  Of  Adam,  its  effects  upon  himself, 
151,  153.  And  upon  his  descendants,  153-154.  Original,  propagation 
and  extent  of,  159,  160.  Original,  as  well  as  actual,  involves  guilt, 
162-164.  Remains  of,  in  the  regenerate  still  guilt,  161.  All  kinds  of, 
leads  to  just  judgment  of  God,  163,  164.  Concupiscence  in  the  sancti- 
fied still  sin,  269-272. 

Sinfulness  of  man  by  nature  and  from  birth  total,  160. 

Smalcald,  Articles  of,  27. 

Socinian  view  of  decrees,  96,  101. 

Spiritual  illumination  necessary,  61,  62. 

State  of  man  after  death.     Intermediate,  515-521.     Final,  532-534. 

Supererogation,  works  of,  impossible,  305,  307.     Romish  doctrine  of,  305. 

Synod  of  Dort,  Canons  of,  28,  33. 

Synods  and  Councils,  doctrine  of,  505-512.  Presbyterian  principles  con« 
cerning,  505-509.     Sphere,  limits  and  binding  power  of,  c 09-512. 

Thirty-nine  Articles  of  Church  of  England,  28,  33,  207. 
Total  depravity.     See  Sin. 


INDEX.  659 

Tradition,  of  no  authority  in  matters  of  faith,  61. 

Transubstantiation,  488,  489. 

Trinity,  doctrine  of,  70-89.     Doctrine  of,  stated.  83-89.     As  stated  in  the 

Nicene  Creed,  23.     Persons  of.  how  distinguished,  88,  89. 
Trust,  an  essential  element  of  saving  faith,  280,  282. 
Truth,  knowledge  of,  essential  to  salvation,  242. 

Ursinus,  33. 

Vow,  doctrine  of,  394,  395. 

War,  defensive,  lawful,  402,  403. 

Westminster  Assembly,  history  of,  33-41.  Convened  by  Parliament,  36. 
Confession  and  Catechisms  of.  See  Confession.  Scotch  delegates  to, 
37.     Different  parties  in,  37,  38.     Organized,  38.     Dissolved,  40. 

Will.     See  Free  will. 

Witness  of  the  Spirit,  326-328. 

Works.     See  Good  Works. 

Worship,  religious,  doctrine  of,  366-379.  A  dictate  of  natural  religion,  367 
Scripture  the  only  rule  of,  368.  All  will-worship  forbidden,  368.  Due 
equally  to  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  369.  Not  to  be  offered  to 
saints  or  angels,  369.  Romish  idolatry,  370-372.  Prayer,  its  nature 
and  objects,  373-376.  Through  Christ  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  374.  Prayers 
for  the  dead  not  allowed,  376.  Romish  doctrine  of,  376.  Public, 
■ecret,  family,  and  occasional,  377-3*9.  Qs. 


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